One Hundred Percent
by I Punch Werewolves 4 Fun
Summary: After a huge misunderstanding and weeks spent in an alcohol haze, Edward thinks his life with Bella is back on track. Until he gets a call from The Jessica Stanley Show. AU AH Mostly Cannon pairings.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Bella are you sure you're okay to watch this?" Alice asked. I shrugged in response. How was I supposed to answer that...because no matter what, at the end of the day, this situation was all sorts of fucked up.

I sat on the couch between my best friend and my cousin, patiently waiting for the commercials to end, yet wishing they would last forever. Curling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, I closed my eyes as I laid my forehead on my knees trying to fight the tears pooling within them. Rosalie leaned in to hug me, whispering that things would be alright, while Alice soothingly rubbed my back.

When the advertisement for _Gerber_ ended and the theme music for _'The Jessica Stanley Show_' started, I couldn't help but think how ironically fitting that last sales pitch was. The camera zoomed in to the blonde host as I fought to keep myself in check.

"Welcome back! Before the break we heard from Edward, Tanya, and Victoria." The screen spanned over their faces. I wanted to throw the remote at the television when I saw those two ... I wasn't sure women was the right word, but I couldn't allow myself to call them lying bitches no matter how much I wanted to. With so many unknowns in the air, it had yet to be seen who exactly was lying.

All my anger was quickly washed away and replaced with pain and heartache when Edward's face appeared on the screen.

He looked like hell. His normally bright eyes looked dull, almost lifeless. They were red and filled with tears, the bags underneath giving away the fact he probably hadn't slept well in some time. His hair was messy as usual, but I could tell that it wasn't because of him running his hands through it like he normally did. He had been gripping it. Pulling on it as if it was the only thing left he could hold onto in the world. His perfect angular jaw that typically donned a slight five o'clock shadow was currently hidden behind the beginnings of a full beard. But what hurt the most was seeing his signature smile missing from his face. Each of those small things added up, making the bigger picture gut wrenching.

Edward Cullen was a man that could only be described as heartbroken.

Jessica then stood from her chair, turning to speak directly into the camera. "The results are in."

She picked up an envelope, flicked the flap open, and reached inside. There was silence as she read the paper to herself first. "In regards to four month old twins Alec and Jane," Jessica spoke while the camera focused in on Tanya. "As well as three month old Bree," she continued as the camera panned over to Victoria. "With the probability of 99.999%, Edward Cullen you are..."

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A/N

So, this is my first attempt at anything more than a o/s. I have no idea how often I will be updating, it depends on how the writing is flowing. I'd really appreciate some feedback, so review or DM me if you'd be so kind.

~Ash


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

With one final look in the mirror I straightened my tie and sprayed on some cologne. Spying a few errant hairs, I used my fingers to carefully place them back into my perfectly styled 'do. I picked up my wallet, and checked the contents; cash, license and credit cards all in place. While closing it, I spotted the worn and aged picture that I kept inside. _Bella. _I took it out and flipped it over, reading the faded message scrawled in her messy script.

_Edward _

_Why you wanted this, I'll never understand. _

_But when have I ever been able to say no to you._

_Love you always, _

_Bella_

I chuckled at the silliness of her words. She was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever met, or probably would ever meet . Bella just never saw herself the way everyone else did. Sighing, realizing I was cutting it close, I put the photo back and pocketed my wallet.

Looking down I grabbed the small black velvet box and tucked it inside my suit jacket. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face. Tonight was the night. _Finally,_ I was going to ask Bella to marry me. And there was no doubt in my mind that she would say yes.

I snatched my keys from the bedside table and took one last look at my bedroom. There were vases filled with Bella's favorite purple and white orchids. The vanilla and strawberry scented candles reminded me that I'd have to text my cousins Jasper and Sawyer as we were leaving the restaurant. They had agreed to go and light them before we got home. Everything was perfect. Even the bed was made with brand new, crisp, white linens

_They won't be so crisp by tomorrow morning_, I thought rather smugly, my lips morphing into a mischievous grin. There was no way that we would not be messing those sheets up in the most glorious of ways.

With everything in perfect order, I walked out of my front door and started making my way over to my girl's house. Before getting into my car, I took a moment to just stare at it. I had just picked it up from the dealer last week, and I still wasn't used to the fact that it was really _my_ car. A white Maserati Granturismo, my dream car since I hit puberty.

Climbing into the driver's seat, I laughed. Some days it was still hard to believe that my love for a game I started playing when I was young boy could now afford me everything I needed. I still loved throwing the fact that paintball had made me successful into my dad and grandfather's faces.

Stopping for a red light I glanced over to the passenger seat, the first sign tonight would turn to shit was sitting right there. When I had picked up the flowers for my room that morning, I'd also grabbed one single red rose. I had been planning on giving it to her when I got to her house.

My Mom always said _'A gentlemen never shows up for an important date without a flower for his lady.' _And as far as tonight went, it was the most important night of my life to date.

Evidently I had forgotten the flower in the car, and now it sat wilted and dead. Shaking my head I picked it up, knowing I couldn't give it to her in this condition. With a huff of annoyance I threw it out the window as I hit the gas pedal and sped towards the interstate.

The second sign of the night's demise was when I got stuck in unexpected traffic. All my careful planning was thrown right out the window. Tuning my radio to a news channel, the reporter informed me there was an accident causing back ups for miles in both directions. _Goddamn people and their rubbernecking. _I had told Bella I'd be over at six-thirty, and it was already quarter to seven.

As if showing up late to pick up my possible future fiancé wasn't bad enough, I had called in a few favors in order to get us a table at _Villapiano's _for seven o'clock_ . _At this rate, I had no idea how we'd be able to make the reservations_. _

_Villapiano's, _thinking of the name alone caused a smile_. _It was a very well known Italian restaurant in the Chicago area that was usually booked months in advanced. Great Italian food, good music and a romantic setting that actually rivaled being in a candle lit café in Italy.

My favorite thing about it however, was knowing it was where I had first told Bella I loved her. And before we left tonight, it would be the place I got down on one knee and asked her to be mine forever.

_Forever. I thought that word was supposed to scare men? _I mused. _But then again, none of those men got to think of their forever with Bella._

Pulling into the driveway behind Bella's roommate Alice's Mini Cooper brought me out of my thoughts. Looking at the clock I saw I was almost twenty-five minutes late. I pulled out my cell and dialed the restaurant to see if there was any way to salvage our reservations.

"Buona sera. Thank you for calling _Villapiano's_. My name is Fabrizio, what can I do for you?"

"Hi, I have a reservation tonight at seven, its under Cullen, we're running late. Would I be able to push that back to seven forty-five?" I asked, my fingers tapping the steering wheel rapidly.

"Mr. Cullen, may I ask you to hold for one moment?"

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, fidgeting in my seat, anxious to see my girl. It'd been a long week, only getting to see her once since Sunday. I could hardly take it, knowing she was waiting for me, I just wanted to run up the porch steps to her.

"Mr. Cullen?" asked a heavily Italian accented male that was clearly not Fabrizio.

"Yes?"

"It is my understanding you are running late, and will not make you reservation, yes?"

"That's correct. If you could just hold our table for a little whi-" the deep voice cut me off mid-request.

"Sir, we do not hold tables past your designated reservation time. You reserved for seven, you must be here at seven." His words were strong and I could tell he wouldn't budge from his decision.

"Can I speak to a manager please?" I asked in a very clipped tone, assuming I was speaking to a waiter on a power trip.

"That will not be necessary. I am Aro Volturi, I along with my brothers, Caius and Marcus, are the co-owners and executive chefs." His tone, while still polite, carried an undeniable undercurrent of annoyance. "I would be happy to take your name down for a future reservation. Perhaps we can make that visit later in the evening so you can find a way to be here on time, yes?"

"Please, can you make an exception? I'll pay extra, how about a grand? Please, I was planning on proposing tonight," I begged. I heard Aro take a deep breath, and prayed he was thinking things over, and that his decision would be in my favor.

"Mr. Cullen, while I do enjoy a good love story, especially those with happy endings, I am afraid we do not bend the rules here," he stated rather bluntly. "If tonight was so important, and you were asking for a young lady's hand, perhaps you should have planned better."

Just as I was about to tell him I'd give him five thousand dollars to allow this, he spoke up again.

"Looking in our books, we can schedule you in for nine o'clock on August the fifth. Would you like that Mr. Cullen?" I couldn't even think straight at that point. Instead of answering him I hung up the phone as a primal growl ripped from my throat. My hands moved without conscious thought and I saw my phone flying across the car, smashing against the passenger side dashboard. My toddler like tantrum continued as I slammed my fists into the steering wheel a few times while yelling every curse word I knew in English, Italian and German. As well as a few I might have made up.

Taking a few deep breathes to calm myself, I leaned over and gathered the pieces of my phone off the floor. I simultaneously put my battery back in while I forced myself to think soothing thoughts. With the back cover in place, I powered the device up, finally getting my temper back in check.

I was now a half hour late, and had no idea where I was taking her for dinner. It was a Friday night, and anywhere I felt was an acceptable place to 'pop the question' would be booked or have a gargantuan wait. There was no way I was asking for her hand at some chain restaurant or crappy hole in the wall joint.

Time was against me, and I knew that at any moment either Bella or Alice would look out the window and see me just sitting there like a moron. The only thing I could think to do was call Jazz and see if he had any ideas. After forty seconds of the most ridiculous caller tone playing I almost hung up, sick of hearing about hoes in different area codes. Just as I started pulling the phone from my ear, I was met with a very disturbing greeting.

"H-Hullooooo," my cousin sputtered out. I was still tempted to hang up, especially after hearing a slurping sound in the background.

"What the fuck Jazz, am I interrupting something?" I questioned, a disgusted grimace adorning my face.

"Nah dude, if you make this quick I can talk for a minute," he said over the sounds of a moan. Quickly I weighed my options of ending the call or listening to what sounded like a live version of a late night hotel porno.

"I lost my spot at _Villapiano's_, got any suggestions now?" I asked while pretending I didn't hear the muffled whispers of _'mouth like a Hoover' _from my cousin.

"Man th-that suckssss," he yelped. " Hold on one second bro." I could hear him place a hand, well I assumed it was a hand, over the phone and murmurs of _'baby I thought I told you not to bite anymore'. _

"Okay, back now," he groaned, while I choked back the vomit threatening to creep up my throat.

"I think I'll just let you go, you seem kind of… distracted."

"Wait! Listen! Maria and I skipped dinner, and went straight to desert, if ya'know what I mean," he half laughed, half moaned. "We had reservations at _The Greek Ruin _over on East Main, eight O'clock, take our spot. It's under my name." I had never been more grateful of the fact my cousin was being serviced by his current flavor of the week.

"You're a life saver man, I owe you one," I rushed, hanging up. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough and heard a few loud smacks along with a moaned 'ye_s, daddy, can I have another'_.

Now that I had a plan firmly in place again, I made my way to the door. Before I even had a chance to knock, the door flew open and Bella threw herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her tight to me.

"Are you happy to see me or something?" I laughed. Her grip around me loosened, as she stood in front of me, hands sliding to hold the lapels of my suit coat.

"Maybe," she teased with a small smirk, before stretching up to kissing my lips soundly.

I took a hold of one of her hands, and brought it above her head. Slowly I spun her around to see how amazing she looked. The black dress she wore hugged her in all the right places. I only managed to stop looking at her ass when I caught sight of how fantastic her tits looked. The way her bra pushed them up made me want to lean in and lick them. _And oh my God_, she had heels on. The way they elongated her legs, was going to drive me crazy. The groan I let out was embarrassingly loud, causing Bella to bite her lip trying to stifle a laugh.

"My, my, Miss Swan, do you have any idea how good you make this dress look?" I asked while shamelessly looking her up and down. My obvious gawking caused her cheeks to glow pink. Leaning in, my lips ghosted along her ear to whisper, "Almost as good as it'll look on my floor later tonight."

Her sharp intake of breath was just the response I was looking for as I kissed the spot below her ear that drove her wild. Pulling back, I was met with her lust filled gaze and it took everything I had in me to give her a chaste peck on the lips and lead her to my car.

We drove through the city in companionable silence, my mind, however, was going a mile a minute. My thoughts were screaming at me from all directions about what I would be doing soon. I kept thinking about the words I wanted to say to her, how I would get from my seat to her side and down on one knee. Should I ask before our dinner, during it, maybe before dessert? But what if she didn't want dessert, then what would I do? I had no doubts about asking her, but my anxiety was flaring up with the specifics of how.

"Baby," she softly spoke. When I looked over, her brows were furrowed in concern and something I couldn't exactly figure out. "You okay?"

"Of course I am," I answered, raising an eyebrow in question.

"You sure? Because you've got a death grip on my hand," she laughed awkwardly. I immediately loosened my grip, muttering a 'fuck' while I inspected for any lasting damage. When I found none, I brought her knuckles to my lips, placing kisses along each one.

After leaving my car with the valet, and threatening him with death if I found one dent, scratch or ding, Bella and I made our way into the swanky Greek establishment. Walking in, you almost felt like you were traveling back in time to when buildings like the Parthenon or Acropolis were still intact.

"Good evening, do you have a reservation?" asked the hostess while simultaneously checking me out.

"Whitlock, reservation for two," I answered, pulling Bella in tighter to my side. The hostess rolled her eyes before mumbling for us to follow her. We were led to a small white marble table in the middle of the room. Menus were handed to us and we were told our server would be over in just a few moments.

"How bout some Ouzo, babe?" Bella asked, giving me a knowing smirk complete with a mischievously raised eyebrow. Clearly she was remembering our last time indulging in the Greek alcohol. My pants were getting snug just thinking about the night of marathon sex that had started on our drive home. _Fuck_, I screamed internally, _maybe we could christen the Maserati tonight_!

"Oh, we most definitely can get some Ouzo," I purred seductively while licking my lips. "Is there anything else you'd like?" I asked giving her a cocky grin and my own arched brow. My girl didn't miss my intended innuendo, and in response, she bit her lip and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"That's so not fair," she argued, while shaking her head slightly. "You can't say things like that to me, not when we haven't even had our appetizers yet. During dessert maybe, but not if I've got to sit here and stare at you for a whole meal."

"Don't pull the 'not fair' card. Did you not look in the mirror before I picked you up?" I groaned, running my hands through my hair. "I honestly debated just turning you around and locking us in your room for the night."

She looked right into my eyes with the most serious face I had ever seen her use, and deadpanned, "You should have."

"Now it's you saying things that shouldn't be said," I chuckled. "Bella, you don't want to encourage my inner Neanderthal. Trust me on that. Now, is there anything you see, _on the menu_, that you'd like?"

Our waitress approached shortly after. We ordered a small bottle of Ouzo and two glasses of the house Greek wine, as well as pitas with hummus and an olive and feta plate.

While we waited for our appetizers to arrive, I reached over, taking her hand into mine. I found myself momentarily speechless as I took in all her beauty. It left me feeling completely dumbfounded as to how a guy like me could end up with a woman like her.

"You look lost in thought again, wanna share?" She broke my reverie.

"Just trying to figure out how I managed to get you to agree to that first date. I still have no clue how you put up with me sometimes," I told her honestly, giving her a playful smile.

"Hmm," she sighed, pursing her lips, pretending to think about it_. At least I hoped she was pretending. _"I ask myself that same thing all the time. I mean, I can't believe what I said to you the first time I talked to you at that autograph table." I laughed remembering exactly what she asked me.

"Yeah, its not everyday I get a girl asking me, 'Can you sign my buddy's _Stiffy_?' I really thought you were going to kill Emmett when you realized what he'd told you to say."

"I was so embarrassed," she muttered, covering her blushing cheeks with her hands. Leaning over I gently pried them away from her face, not wanting her to hide that pink glow.

"Hey, I don't regret for a minute what you said, although I am glad you were talking about his gun barrel. Besides, it made you stick out more in my mind. I spent the rest of that day walking around the stands and merchandise tents looking for you," I reminisced.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," I chuckled, causing a small giggle to fall from her lips. "When I had seen you walk up to the table I thought you were beyond hot. But after you spoke, I knew I needed to find you, to talk to you. And believe me, I was beyond stoked when I saw you out on the field with Em at the awards ceremony. I mean, who knew that big oaf could actually play." She laughed again, the sound slowly fading out as her features became softer.

"I love you, Edward," she whispered, leaning over the table kissing me tenderly.

And that's when it hit me. This was the perfect time to ask her. We had just recounted what may have been one of the most awkward first encounters in history, but it suited us just fine. Our conversation about the past was the opening that I had been looking for.

When she pulled back to sit, I took a in a deep breath. Taking her left hand into one of mine, I just let the words start to flow, knowing that no speech I could have prepared would have been remembered. With one look into her eyes, I started letting everything in my heart spill out.

"Bella, baby, I love you so much. You are the world to me, more than that, I can't even put into words exactly how much you mean to me." I started reaching into my suit coat to get the ring box, slowly shifting to the edge of my seat. "There's something I really want-"

"Bells!" I was cut off by a loud echoing roar. Turning, I instantly spotted the person responsible for wrecking one of the biggest moments of my life.

Jacob.

Fucking.

Black.

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A/N

So... That was chapter one. Hope you enjoyed it. I've got a few things to make note of:

1. **_Villapiano's_ is not mine. It's the name of the restaurant in the movie That Thing You Do. One of my all time favorites.**

2. Paintball, I do in fact play. So any uncommon terminology will be explained at the end of the chapter.

-**_Stiffy_: a type of aftermarket paintball gun barrel. it's supposed to help you shoot better than the one your gun comes with. They are awesome, but pricey.**

3. I'll be adding some pictures of things like cars, clothes, people and the like on my profile page.

As for when the next update will be... Not a clue, I'm working on it. There is a good deal of it written, just not to my satisfaction. I am not what you'd call a natural writer. I can't just sit down and hammer a chapter out whenever I please, but I do try to write as often as I can.

~Ash


	3. Chapter 2

Hey there folks! Anyone still out there? If so, thanks for sticking with me. I'll let you read the chapter first, A/N will be at the bottom. So... Have at it!

S. Meyers is the all owning Twilight God. I'm just a mere mortal that likes to make her characters look like Assholes!

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**_Chapter 2_**

**_EPOV _**

Bella's hand was ripped from mine, as the behemoth pulled my would be fiancée into a suffocating hug, complete with twirling her around in his arms.

"Oh my god, Jake!" she exclaimed, hugging him back just as tight. You would think with the way they were acting that they hadn't seen each other in months or even years. Wrong. The fucker saw her a few times a week.

Sasqaush placed her back down and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. My jaw clenched so hard I could've broken a tooth. When Jacob saw my efforts to restrain myself, he simply gave me an arrogant smirk.

"How's it going Ed?" He asked, all the while standing way too close to Bella for my liking.

"Fine" I huffed, my voice displaying my agitation. Bella gave me a look, _'The Look'_. Clearly she was not happy that I wasn't 'playing nice' with Jake. I fought the scowl from forming on my face, "Yourself?"

"Well…" he sighed, jutting out his lower lip like a small child. "To be honest, not so great."

"What's wrong Jakey?" Bella asked as she rubbed a hand on his back, all the while using his sad puppy eyes on her.

_Fuck_, I thought, this bastard was going to worm his way into my date. I needed to find a way to get him to leave. There was no way I could have some romantic proposal with him here.

Since day one of my relationship with Bella, Jacob had been a thorn in my side. It literally started with our first date, which Bella rescheduled because of him. He needed his wisdom teeth removed, and insisted Bella take care of him afterwards. It didn't matter that he'd been dating someone for six months, or that his sisters both offered to help. He just had to have Bella do it.

Not to mention what happened the morning after we had first slept together. Without knocking or waiting for permission he just walked in and climbed into her bed. It was bad enough that he thought he was crawling in to cuddle with my girl. But Bella had gone to grab us some breakfast, telling me to go back to sleep for a while and not to get dressed. While it sounded like a fabulous idea, I woke up to Jake throwing an arm around me and trying to spoon my naked ass!

He was the poster child for cockblocking. I couldn't even recall how many times he had crashed our dates, movie nights and dinners at home. Hell, one time he even snagged the last two condoms out of Bella's nightstand. I mean, the blowjob I got that night had been great and all, but it certainly wasn't the same as fucking my girl.

"I was supposed to have a date tonight, but Cary didn't show up." he said sadly. I almost felt bad for him, just for a second. But then the asshole reached over to the empty table next to us and grabbed a chair. Pulling it up to ours, he plopped himself down next to Bella.

_Oh hell no_, I internally screamed. This was not happening. I would not allow this Yeti to crash another date, especially one this important.

"Have you tried to call her?" I clipped. He shared an amused look with Bella. Before turning his attention back to me.

"Of course I did." The eye roll he tossed my way did not go unnoticed. "I tried multiple times," he sighed exaggeratedly. "I guess I'm just getting stood up. Again."

"Oh, Jakey," Bella said while continuing to rub his back. "It'll be okay, you'll see. You just haven't met the right person yet."

"But how do you know when you've found the right person? I thought I did before, but it has never worked out, with anyone."

"You'll just-" She was interrupted by the reappearance of our waitress.

"Here you are, Pita's with the house hummus and the classic Feta and olive tray. As well as your Ouzo and wine." She stated while placing the food in the middle of the table.

The moment the waitress left, Jake reached over, taking a pita chip and plunged it in the hummus. He followed that up by stabbing a few olives with Bella's fork. Just as I was about to ask what he was doing, the mongrel snagged the wine glass from my side of the table and drained it dry.

My jaw tightened once more, I could feel my nostrils flaring as I tried to take calming breaths. My hands were gripping the table in an effort to keep me seated. As well as to keep me from tearing the asshole a new… _asshole_.

I looked pointedly at Jake, trying to convey without words that he needed to leave… Now. Our eyes caught, and he shuddered, then swallowed whatever was in his mouth with a loud gulp..

"Oh my God." he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just be on my way now." As he started to stand Bella reached out and stopped him.

"Are you sure Jakey? What are you going to do if you leave?" Sometimes Bella was way too nice to him.

"I'll probably just go home and watch some movies or something" he ended with a pathetic sigh.

"No," She commanded, pulling him back into the chair. "You will sit down and have dinner with us."

"I …umm … I…" Jake stuttered, trying to figure out what to say. His eyes discreetly glanced towards me, and I shot him a glare. If he had any value for his own wellbeing, he'd leave. I made it more than clear that I wanted him gone.

"C'mon. Stay and have dinner with us. Edward doesn't mind, right babe? You're fine with it, right?" There was no denying her, I couldn't say no. I hoped Jake knew I was just appeasing her, and would leave regardless.

"Sure, that'd be just great," I said, waving my hand in front of me as if I couldn't care less. Yeah babe, just invite the giant ape, who I think secretly wants to fuck you, to eat dinner with us, on the night I'm trying to propose. No fucking problem, at all.

"See, it's fine. Sit!" she told him, pulling him down again. He seemed hesitant though, and as he was about to say something she stopped him by placing her hand over his mouth, "Jake I swear to god, if you try to argue with me about this, I'm going to kick you in the balls. So, save us both the trouble and pain, and just fucking eat dinner with us," she demanded. Unfortunately for me, he couldn't deny her either, and sat back down.

Realizing that dinner was shot to hell, now that Jumbo had taken residence in the seat next to my girl, I waved the waitress over. There was no way I'd make it through this meal without a drink, or six.

"J.D. on the rocks," I ordered, "and keep 'em coming," I added as an afterthought.

"Not a problem" she smiled, then turned to retrieve my drink.

Five minutes later she came back with my Jack in hand. I knew it had been five minutes because when she walked away I took out my cell to look over some emails and was still messing with it as she set the glass down. Bella and Jake were too caught up in their conversation to notice I hadn't said a word.

"Jack on the rocks, will that be all …?" She paused, waiting for me to supply my name, a flirtatious smirk on her lips.

"Edward," I told her, trying to drop the conversation.

"Edward," she sighed, before flipping her hair to one side. "I'm Tori, let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, okay?" There was no way I could miss the double meaning in her statement. In fact it would have been hard to, considering the way she eye-fucked me. It made me feel like the last piece of cake, and she was the hungry fat kid.

"Thanks" I said awkwardly. She licked her over glossed lips then winked at me before heading back to the bar. I had to fight the urge to cringe in disgust.

Every few minutes she would walk by the table under the notion of checking my drink. But after a quick glance at my glass I would be sent an, attempted, sexy smile or wink. Normally I'd ignore the attention from anyone other than Bella, but tonight it made me feel wanted. Not in a sexual way. But seeing as Bella was so wrapped up in Jake and neither had said a word to me in close to twenty minutes, it was nice someone knew I was there.

I noticed her walking towards us, a filled glass of whisky in hand. She sat the whisky in front of me and asked what we wanted for an entrée.

"Hey Bells," Jake questioned, "Why don't we share ours? I know you and I both love the Mousaka and the Souvlaki."

His simple words incited an anger deep inside me, his mere presence here fueled the rage that was threatening to unleash from me any minute. He had no place asking her things like that tonight, a night that should have changed Bella and my lives for the better. _I_ should have been asking her to share entrée's. _I_ should be the one she was laughing at jokes with. _I_ should be the one she's smiling at.

Instead, I was the chump sitting there questioning if he really should have bought a fucking engagement ring.

"What about you?"

"Hurh?" I questioned, looking up to see Tori smiling down at me expectantly.

"Your sister and her boyfriend already ordered, what about you? What are you getting?" she asked, giving me bedroom eyes.

"Ohh… umm… I'll have the chicken riganato." The fact that I hadn't corrected her about Bella being my girlfriend and not sister did not escape me.

To be honest, I don't really know why I didn't correct the waitress. Maybe it was because I had always feared Bella would realize that she cared for Jake as more than just her childhood friend. I knew from the beginning they were extremely close, but I had always told myself if she wanted him, she would be with him. But Bella wasn't with him, she was with me, and loved me. At least that's what I tried to convince myself of while I watched them converse.

Leaning back in my chair, I reached out and grabbed for my glass. _Looks like it's you and me tonight, J.D_., I sighed, then downed the fierce liquid. The burn left in the wake of the whiskey only served to remind me that this was not a dream, just one of my worst nightmares coming to life.

I stared at my ice cubes hoping they would entertain me until my next glass was delivered or my entrée arrived. There was a smaller piece of ice at the bottom, and I decided I wanted it. I shook, jingled and tossed the cubes around until I was interrupted.

"Eddie, can you put the glass down, I mean I can barely hear what Bella's telling me over all your noise." Jacob said, looking like the picture of innocence. I sucked in a harsh breath, before I spoke.

"Sure Jake," I gave him a pointed glance, before slamming my glass on the table. "I'll be back, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom." Without waiting for either one of them to acknowledge me, I stood and stormed off in the direction of the restrooms.

I couldn't help the detour I made to the bar first. I sat on a stool in the corner where I knew it would be hard for Bella and Jake to spot me in the darkness, but I could see them. They didn't seem to miss my presence at the table, leaning close and talking just the same as before. Not able to tolerate the sight any longer I waved the bartender over.

"Let me get three double shots of 151, chilled please." I asked when he came over. The guy eyed me warily for a few seconds before giving a slight shrug and turned to pour my shots.

While I was waiting I pulled my phone out and sent Jazz and Sawyer texts telling them not to worry about the candles and to have a good night. And just for kicks I sent another to Jazz telling him '_to wrap it before he tapped it._' Just as I hit send, the clink from the heavy bottoms of the shot glasses hitting the solid wood counter alerted me to the arrival of my drinks.

"Do you need any lemons, salt or help carrying these to your table sir?" I scoffed at the guy, and threw a fifty down on the counter.

"Nope," I said then downed the first shot. Picking up the second one I nodded towards the bill "That enough?" I tilted my head and tossed back the second shot before he could reply.

"Yes, sir, the total was twenty-eight dollars." With another nod of my head I took the last shot on the counter. Slamming the glass down, I rasped out "Good, keep the change."

As I got up and made my way to the bathroom I could feel the effects of my drinks starting to hit me. A nice mellow vibe was taking over my body, and it brought a feeling of warmth with it.

I took care of my business, and stepped to the sink to wash my hands. The coolness of the water coming from the faucet felt nice on my rapidly heating skin. After drying my hands I felt a bit calmer, until one ran over the ring box as I straightened my suit out in the mirror.

I ripped the box out of the inner pocket of my suit coat and stared at it, unsure of what I was even feeling anymore. Upon opening it I laughed to myself, remembering the guy who was returning a ring to the jewelers' when I had picked this one up. He seemed defeated and utterly broken, I couldn't help feeling sad for him. I had never thought of how it would be to have to return an unwanted ring. _An unwanted promise of forever, an unwanted future, a rejected love. _Now, I wasn't so sure I wouldn't be doing the same thing.

I snapped the box shut and jammed it back into my pocket. I looked back into the mirror, not shocked to see the way my eyes were starting to look glassy. _Maybe that third shot was a bit much_, I pondered while running my hands through my hair. I realized how messy it was, but couldn't bring myself to care enough to fix it.

Deciding that I didn't care much about my appearance now, I mean what was the point when the night was blown to shit anyway, I took off my tie. I shoved that fucking noose in my pocket and undid some buttons on my shirt. It made breathing a little easier. I let out a long breath, resigned to the fact that I was sure of nothing at this point, least of all my future with Bella. Somehow I found a way to leave the restroom, praying that when I got back things would be better.

I was so busy thinking of what I could do about things that I walked right into someone. Out of habit, from catching Bella so many times, I reached out and grabbed the stranger by waist to stop their fall. I was shocked when I looked up and saw a friendly smile and long strawberry blonde hair.

"Tanya? Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"Oh my god, Edward!" she squealed in a way that reminded me of my younger cousin Lizzie when I bought her Justin Bieber tickets for her birthday. "I thought it was you, but I wasn't sure! Oh my god!" _Ahh, and there's the memory of when our parents forced me to bring Tanya to an N'sync concert when we were 15._

"Are you okay?" I inquired again, wanting to let go of her waist, but not willing to until I knew she wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine" she waved me off. Before I could let go she leaned in for a hug, and peck on the cheek. "How have you been? I ran into your Mom and Dad the other day, told them they should have you call me."

Taking a step back, I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling a bit unnerved by her proximity and words. "I'm great, just working and stuff. How 'bout yourself?"

"Oh you know, a little of this a little of that, same as always," She answered vaguely while twirling a piece of hair around her finger. She'd been doing that shit for as long as I could remember. "So, what are you doing here E?"

"Just having dinner, you?" I answered shortly, hoping to make my way back to the table soon.

"Came to get a drink and pick up my friend Vicki from work. I think we're going to be heading out to some bars or a club, you should come with," she told me, while reaching out a hand towards my arm.

"I…umm" just as I was about to tell her no, something caught my eye. Glancing over her shoulder I saw Bella and Jacob sitting, facing each other, with big smiles. His hand reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then he leaned in an whispered something in it. She bit her lip before nodding and then smiling at him again.

As if that hadn't been enough, they embraced in a tight hug and he gave her another kiss on the cheek. All the while she still had a beautiful smile stretched across her face.

I closed my eyes hoping that when I opened them I wouldn't be seeing the same thing, that I was just imagining it all. But the sight that greeted me hadn't changed, Jake and Bella were still happily smiling at each other. If I hadn't been sure before, I most definitely was now. Something was going on there, and I wasn't part of it. As much as it hurt, I had to admit to myself that even though Bella was my everything, I did not appear to be hers.

"Edward?" Tanya's voice slammed me back into the moment.

"What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to come out with Vicki and me?"

I looked over Tanya's shoulder again, and saw the two of them leaning closer to each other and exchanging words, still adorning gentle smiles. It was all I needed to see to make my choice.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

So, yeah... That's chapter two.

Couple of things. I want to say 'Thank You', to anyone who's read or reviewed. I love hearing feedback, and the fact that you take the time to give my little story some attention... It blows my mind away. I'm going to try to start sending out teasers of the next chapter in replies to reviews.

Also, I'm sorry for the delay. I don't anticipate the next update taking so long. Then again, I didn't anticipate this one taking forever either. I do write slow, but not typically that slow. Between the holidays, shopping and family obligations, it would have been hard to get this out fast. But add in being sick for going on two and a half weeks, Beta's with busy real lives and work bullshit... Well I'm happy I even got this finished.

Also, I keep forgetting to tell my Beta's how much I love them. MuffysWorld and Donut_Magnet spend their personal time editing the random shit I write and make it legible enough that I can post. Without them, I doubt anyone would even give this a second look. You guys are amazing.

Next chapter should be posting: Not sure, but I can tell you I have a good chunk written.

~Ash


	4. Chapter 3

Hey! Welcome to chapter 3... If you're still out there reading or caring that is... I'll let you get to it, though there will be an A/N at the bottom with some stuff you should read.

I _DO NOT_ own Twilight... Which is good, becaus I don't think I would have made vampires sparkle... And really, who doesn't love sparkly vampires?

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_**BPOV **_

Jake and I had been sitting at the table waiting for Edward for a while when I became extremely concerned. He'd had a few drinks, and didn't eat much. In fact we were waiting for him to come back before digging into the entrees that had arrived a few minutes ago.

"Bella, your boy sure does pick a shitty time to… er… shit?" Jake laughed towards the end. I wasn't laughing however.

"Really Jake. A bathroom joke? Can you go check and see if he's okay, please? I'm getting really worried." Jake made a noise, probably the start of a protest, but stopped when he looked at me. He must've seen the worry on my face.

He told me sure and got up to go check the restroom. While he was gone a waiter came over and introduced himself as Peter, telling me he would be our server for the rest of our visit. That was fine by me, the red-head from earlier let her eyes stay glued to my man a little too long for my liking.

When Jake got back to the table he had the biggest grin plastered on his face. He sat down and was fidgeting a lot, trying to look everywhere but at me. If I wasn't so damn worried about Edward, I would've let him sit there and try to act like he didn't want me to ask him what was up. But I was worried, so I questioned him right away.

"Well? Did you see him in there?" I asked. He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Okay, so is he okay?" His grin got impossibly wider, as he gave me an '_mmhmm_'.

"Lose the grin, Jacob. Just tell me what's going on."

"Nope," he said, then bit down on his lip. His evasiveness was really wearing on me. I just wanted to know what was happening.

"Jake, c'mon, just tell me." When he still didn't say anything I broke out the big guns, so to speak. "Did you see his dick or something?" That cracked him, and he began giggling like a school girl.

"I wish I saw his cock," he told me with a pointed look. "However, and trust me, it's hard for me to say this and believe it, what I saw… So much better!"

I was stunned into silence. Ever since the accidental spooning incident between him and Edward, Jake had been telling me how he wished he'd have gotten a good glimpse. Hell, I had to go as far as installing new knobs on my bathroom door, because I had caught Jake trying to sneak in when Edward was showering.

He'd made it his mission in life to find out exactly how big Edward was, since I refused to give him details. In the past, I'd told him details about my ex-boyfriends or hook ups. But when it came to Edward, it just didn't feel right. But Jake insisted that since he didn't have a shot to get into Edward's pants, he needed to see. Curious about the cock he'd never get.

"What the fuck, Jake? What could be better?" I asked. He opened his mouth, then shut it quickly and shook his head no.

"C'mon. I'll tell you how big it is!" Bribing usually worked with him. His eyes went wide.

"How could you do this to me Bells? I-I-I… You…ahhh! Bel-la! You fight dirty!" I couldn't deny that accusation, so I raised an eyebrow at him. "No! No, I will not tell you!"

"Last chance… Don't you want to know…" He motioned zipping his lips and tossing the key. "Argghhhh!"

"Jake." No answer. "Jacob" Still no answer. "I'm gonna bust out your middle name," I told him with a stern look. He looked rightfully worried. "Jacob Cornelius."

"FINE! I'll give you a hint. Just please don't say that again. I still don't know why my parents let Rachel and Rebecca pick out my middle name," he said. I told him to hurry up and spill it already.

"So you'll never have to sing that ridiculous '_Single Ladies' _song soon," he winked.

"What? Stop talking in riddles," I huffed.

"He's got something for you, someone named Tiffany or Harry may have made it." I was still lost, and I guess it showed on my face, because Jake just rolled his eyes. "Damn it woman! Tiffany's! Harry freakin' Winston!" Then he started singing quiet, but obnoxiously. "He likes it so he's gonna put a ring on it!"

"Oh. OH… Oh shit! Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea Jake seemed to be presenting me. Edward proposing to me, it was just… I couldn't put it into words.

"I'm pretty sure you're catching on B. Now, when Romeo gets his gorgeous ass back here, I'll take off. Give him his big moment and all. Though watching him huff and puff about me being here was kind of hot."

_Shit_, I thought. Edward had planned this night out so he could pop the question, and I'd let Jake crash. I was the worst girlfriend ever.

"Shit Jake. He's got to be pissed. I pretty much invited you on our date."

"Don't worry, I'll go get him then take off. You guys can have your romantic evening, and tomorrow you'll call me with all the juicy details," he told me as he got up.

As I watched Jake weave his way through the dining room, I got lost in my mind. I couldn't believe Edward was about to pop the question. We had talked about it before, both of us expressing how much we wanted to be together. But I had no idea he was planning to ask now. I figured he wouldn't be ready for a few years.

His two best buddies were his cousins, Jasper and Sawyer. Jazz was the epitome of a manwhore and Sawyer was too busy making music to notice the ladies. Even the guys on his paintball team were either single or far from ready to settle down_. Looks like he'd be the first_, I thought with a smile.

"Bells?" Jake questioned softly. As I looked up, I knew something was off. The smile vanished from my face, to be replaced with raised eyebrows. Jake sighed. "He's not in there sweetie."

"What? What do you mean he's not in there?"

While rubbing the back of his neck Jake told me, "Well he isn't in the restroom, or at the bar. I didn't see him outside either. Maybe you should try his cell?"

"I… umm… I… Yeah, I'll try him on his cell. He's probably just smoking a cigarette and you missed him."

After grabbing my Blackberry from my clutch, I dialed his number. After three rings I got his voicemail. Hanging up, I tried back, because he never sent me to voicemail. Two rings this time before his voicemail picked up again.

_Hey you've reached Edward. Leave me a message. Or don't. I really don't give a fuck, but decide before the beep._

"Babe, I'm a little worried. You kind of just disappeared. Can you call me back or come back in. Bye." I hung up, and felt even worse. Where the hell did he go?

"Bella I-"

"Jake, just … shut up. He probably got a business call or something. Let's give it a few more minutes, okay?" I assumed he nodded, because he didn't say anything, just started rubbing my back,

After a few more minutes the waiter came back to see if everything was okay since we weren't eating anything.

"We're just waiting on someone, he should be back in any minute," I told him.

"Would you be talking about Mr. Cullen?" he asked. I told him yes, and his next words shocked me. "Mr. Cullen, left about fifteen minutes ago. He took care of the bill, and said to bring you whatever you would like."

"He left?" I sputtered, "Where did he go?"

"I'm not sure. He left his credit card information at the desk, and said to cover the table's tab."

"No message to pass on? Just left?"

"Well, between you and me," Peter looked around before leaning in an speaking quieter. "There were two ladies with him when he left."

I looked away from Peter, my lip quivering and tears filling my eyes. I was stunned. How could he do this to me? I heard Jake tell the waiter to settle the bill, then he put his arm around me, squeezing me tight. While I was lost in a fog of confusion and disbelief, he led me out the restaurant and to his car. I didn't even remember the drive home.

_**EPOV**_

Before we took off I gave the hostess my credit card to run, and told her to cover everything at the table. Somewhere in my drunken mind I knew leaving her there was wrong, that I should stay and try to talk to her. But seeing them smiling and laughing together damn near killed me. All I wanted was to find a way to numb myself.

The three of us ended up starting the night at some dingy dive bar not far from a college. The girls were drinking some fruity martinis while I nursed a beer.

"So Edward, you decided to let your sister have a date with her boyfriend and come party with us?" Vicki, as she liked to be called outside of work, asked.

"Sister?" Tanya piped in. "He doesn't have a sister. Probably a good thing too, your parents had a hard enough time with you."

"So who was the girl then?"

"Just a…" I didn't know what to call Bella now. She wasn't my friend, she was the love of my life, but it was over, she didn't seem to want me. So I went with the easiest answer, "She's just a person I used to know."

"So, that means your single, right?" Vicki smiled over at me, looking hopeful.

"Uhh yeah, guess I am," I shrugged and chugged half of my bottle. I raised my arm to signal the bartender, admitting I lost her had hurt, and I was going to need another drink. And fast.

We stayed at the bar long enough to each have a few drinks, then the girls suggested some club downtown. I agreed because I wasn't up for being alone and I knew there'd be more booze. Before we went inside, I ditched my suit coat in the back of Tanya's car and rolled up my sleeves. As we walked toward the club, each of the girls grabbed onto one of my arms.

"Turn that frown upside down, Ed," Vicki purred.

"Yeah. I mean you should be feeling like the man. You got two sexy bitches walking in on your arms. Any other guy would be through the moon about it," Tanya said as she lightly checked my hip with her own. I gave a small laugh, and just shook my head.

Immediately upon entering the club I veered the girls in the direction of the closest bar. I wasn't sure what I wanted to order and told Tanya and Vicki to pick out a shot for me.

"What's this?" I asked when the bartender set down two scarlet tinted drinks.

"A red headed slut," Vicki winked and then slid the concoction in front of me. We clinked shot glasses and downed them.

I'd barely slammed the empty glass down, before Tanya was leaning in with another. She took hers in a quick gulp, picked up mine. After stepping in front of me, she pulled me closer and whispered in my ear.

"It's a wet dream." Then she placed the drink to my lips with one hand, the other grabbed my hair at the back of my head. She gently tugged my head back and poured the liquid into my mouth. I swallowed in a loud gulp.

Wiping at the corner of my mouth, I looked back down at Tanya. She was still standing close, with a devilish smirk on her lips.

"Was that as good for you as it was for me?" She asked. I let out a shaky laugh. Things between Tanya and I had never been like that before. Sure she was an extremely attractive woman, but the way she was coming onto me now was fucking with my mind. I didn't have much time to think about that though, because Vicki grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor.

Tanya followed out behind us and the ladies sandwiched me between them. For the first few minutes I let them just dance around me, not doing more than standing and bobbing my head. But they had other plans.

"C'mon Eddie, move a little," Tanya commanded. Her hands took purchase on my hips, trying to sway them to the beat. Stiffly I rocked from side to side. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of dancing. I really just wanted to go back to the bar. I could feel myself loosing the numbness, and it was something I didn't want.

But then I felt one of Vicki's arms wrap around my neck, the other splayed on my chest. She had moved in closer, every time she shifted, she rubbed against me. I was surprised to find it felt good. She must have noticed how surprised I was, because she just gave a little laugh and did it again.

"I don't think you want to keep that up," I spoke into her ear. I was certain if she did, I'd be sporting wood in a few.

"Oh, yeah?" She asked. "Maybe I won't do that again. But how about I do this." She slid her hand down my chest, grabbed onto my belt buckle. She pulled my hips forward just as she pushed hers out. Our bodies met somewhere in the middle, and she ground into me just a bit.

We continued this way for a little while, until I felt Tanya's hands snake up from my waist, running along my abs, and over my pecks. I grabbed one of her hands and pulled on it, signaling to her I wanted her to stand in front of me. I got close enough for her to hear me, and asked her if she felt neglected back there.

"Eddie, you've neglected me for a long time. And I don't just mean tonight. It's my turn to show you some moves," she said before turning around. She took my hands and placed them on her hips. Then proceeded to rub her backside all over me while she danced away.

It took me a few moments to catch on, my brain was nagging at me that I shouldn't be doing this shit. But then I'd remember I was single, and Bella was probably with Jake, and let myself have some fun. I was only dancing after all.

I tightened my grip, and pulled her back to me. Every move she made was guided by my hands. She surprised me though. She dropped down low, and brought it up torturously slow. She rubbed her ass over every inch of me on the way back up.

_Holy. Shit_. I though to myself. Things were getting hot as fuck. The only thing that could make it any hotter was…

I reached one hand out to Vicki, and she took it. Pulling her in close, I sandwiched Tanya between us. My steps faltered a bit as I took in this sight before me. T had her hands in Vicki's hair and Vicki's were resting on Tanya's shoulders. All this while their bodies slid all over each other.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, I was wrong. The song changed to Katy Perry's _I Kissed a Girl. _Tanya and Vicki started getting more into the dancing so I moved away, and stood to the side so I could watch them better.

Then, as the chorus hit, I watched their heads move in closer to each other. By the time Katy was singing about cherry chap-stick the two girls in front of me were full blown making out.

My eyes must have been bugging out of my head and I'm pretty sure my jaw was on the floor. The two chicks I came here with were all over each other tangling hands, legs and tongues. It was one of the hottest things I had ever seen.

The trance I was stuck in, thanks to the sight before me, was broken when I felt two hands reaching for me. I looked down to see both girls grabbing at me. As I got closer, they broke their lip lock and angled themselves towards me.

With one lady straddled over each leg, we began dancing again. I had hands roaming all over me, lips kissing my neck and jaw. I felt like every guy in the club was wishing he was me at that point. A few people were even starring at us. So I gave them a little more to look at. Slowly I slide my hands down each girl's hip, down to their thighs. Squeezing a bit, I started making my way back up, then detoured my return route and grabbed two handfuls of ass.

Tanya and Vicki both seemed to enjoy it as I heard gasps and moans from each of them. It must have turned them on too, because they started kissing again. Tanya even had one of her hands rubbing Vicki's tits.

I let out a groan at the sight, causing Vicki to open her eyes. I could see the mischief in them as she continued to kiss T. Then I felt her hand tangle into the hair at the back of my head. She pushed it forward in what felt like slow motion. I could see what she was hinting at, and at that moment I couldn't find a reason not to oblige. So, with a final nudge, I leaned my head in, and twisted my tongue with theirs.

* * *

WAIT! Don't throw shit at me! Yet!

I know I've been kind of fail with regular updates... And I am sorry about that. However, I do have some chapters stockpiled right now. So I'm thinking the next few updates will be posted every 10 days to two weeks from each other. As for a posting schedule past chapter 6... I'll have to wait and see how the writing goes. The past few weeks I've been home with a hurt shoulder and back, so it's given me ample time to write. Time i don't normally get.

Also, I'm working on an outtake for OHP. How many of you would like to see the first time Bella and Edward met? Remember chapter one? They laughed about it. It's a fluffy, funny little moment.

Big Thanks, hugs, Jackson-porn and spanks to BusyMommy A.K.A. Laura! She stepped up and helped me get this edited.

Last... If you are kind enough to review (while signed in) I will be kind enough to send you a sneaky peak from the next chapter!

Okay, now feel free to throw things. I just ask they not be pointy!

~Ash


	5. Chapter 4

Howdy! I'm back! And look at this, you only had to wait 10 days. See, I kept my word. I got a special announcement at the bottom, so make sure you check it out.

S. Meyers owns Twilight and all this shizznit associated with it... I own the root beer float I'm sipping on, good shit

_**

* * *

****EPOV**_

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

I opened my eyes. Bad move. I quickly squeezed them shut and when I didn't hear anything, I buried my face back into my pillow.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

I groaned. Whoever was knocking needed to take the hint and go away. I wasn't getting up to answer the door. Hell, I wasn't even getting up from this bed. I reached over and grabbed Bella's - _no, not hers anymore_ - grabbed the extra pillow and smushed it over my ears.

_Bang. Bang. Bang_

"Cullen, I know you're in there, fucker. Now answer your door!" Shit, I knew he'd do this. I just figured I had some time before Emmett showed up. _Fuck him_, I thought, and threw the blanket over my head too.

"I'll kick your door in if I have to. Don't make me do it, asshole!" he screamed and then started pounding on my door again. When I still didn't answer, he got more pissed off. "Fine, have it your way." I could hear the windows rattle with his next hit.

Knowing my neighbors would call the cops if he kept this crap up, I threw the blanket off and flew out of bed. As I made my way to the front door, I could see Emmett winding his leg back and kicking the door.

"What do you want Emmett?" I sighed, flinging the door open.

"Oh, good, you _are_ alive. Too bad I'm gonna fucking kill you now," he yelled, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. After taking a few steps into the house, he threw me to the ground, before closing the door. I stood and faced him once again.

"What the fuck, bro?" I yelled. He gave me a humorless laugh. "What?"

"First off, I ain't your 'bro'. Not any more, anyway," he said holding up one finger. He flicked up another one. "Second. How are you gonna ask me 'what the fuck', after what you did to B?"

"I'm not doing this now Em," I shook my head. Throwing myself down on the couch, I pulled a throw blanket over me. As I rolled to face the back, I pointed my hand towards the entryway. "There's the door, you can see yourself out."

Just as I closed my eyes, I heard his footsteps. Unfortunately for me, they were coming in my direction. Right as I was about to tell him to fuck off, he tipped the couch causing me to fall to the floor.

"You're going to listen to me, listen real fucking good," Em commanded, while standing over my still prone body. "She deserves so much better than you and your bullshit. But what she deserves more than that is to know why you did it. You broke her heart, man."

I was pissed. How dare he come into my home and start yelling at me. How dare he talk about what happened like he was even there. Fuck him and fuck that.

"Oh, you wanna talk about heartbreak, do ya? I sat there and watched as the love of my fucking life invited her 'BFF' on our date. Was practically invisible as they sat there and flirted and ignored me. Wondered why she was with me, when it was pretty clear that something was going on with her and Jake," I spoke harshly, but never raised my voice. Until the end, when I spat out, "But mostly, I sat there and wondered what I was going to do with the engagement ring that had been sitting in my fucking pocket!"

"You what?" he gawked at me in disbelief. Walking over to my side table, I picked up a small velvet box. It hadn't moved from this spot since I put it there, the day after my flubbed proposal. Carefully, I opened the case, but avoided looking at the actual ring. Then I tossed it to him.

"I was going to ask her to marry me that night, Emmett." My throat was tight, painful even, as I forced my words out. I couldn't even look at Emmett, not wanting to break down in front of him. "But you know what? I couldn't do it, because no matter what… I'd always be wondering if she wanted him."

"Him? As in Jake? You _seriously_ think she wants Jake?" The way he asked me this, made me want to punch him in his face. I glared at him and nodded my head very slowly. "You're a dumbass!" He punctuated this statement by pointing a finger at me.

"I'm a dumbass? Nah, I don't think so. But I am two seconds away from knocking your ass out," I sneered.

"Slow your roll, killer," he said with a hand up. His stance said he wasn't afraid of me. I couldn't say I'd be scared of anyone in my condition either; barely awake, hung-over and in a pair of boxers. "I'm just getting this shit straight."

"What's there to get? Her and Jake can do their thing. And me, well, I'm out of the picture. It's done," I said, hoping my voice showed him I'd had it with the conversation. He just shook his head and laughed at me.

"You know, you're as dense as a double thick brick wall!" I tried to say something but he interrupted. "There's shit you don't know."

It didn't matter what I supposedly 'didn't know'. I knew enough to get out before I got anymore hurt. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Bella to see what I already did. Self-preservation and maintaining my sanity were my goals in walking.

"Em, just go. I don't really care what I'm missing. It's eas-" I was interrupted by Emmett yelling the last thing I was expecting.

"Jake's gay!" he yelled.

"Fuck off!" I scoffed right back. But one look at his face showed how serious he was being. "Wait. For real?"

"No lie," he said moving to the living room and taking a seat in the recliner.

I couldn't even respond. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed four bottles of beer. I handed Emmett one as I walked past him. Plopping down on my couch, I immediately chugged a full bottle.

"How the fuck did I not know this?" I mused out loud. I wasn't expecting an answer, but Emmett felt the need to supply one for me regardless.

"It's not something Jake lets everyone in on. He's gotten a lot of shit for it, especially from his dad. I mean, his pops pretty much told him that if it got out on the rez, he'd disown him," Em shrugged. While that was fine and well, it still didn't explain why I was never told about this. I said as much to Emmett.

"I didn't say it was right or fair or even made much sense. Hell, I told J a while ago that he needed to give Bella the go ahead to let you in on this. I think he was more scared of how you'd react. Other than me, no guy in B's life has been all that comfortable with him."

"That's supposed to make things all better? No, I don't think so Em. Fuck. That. I never would have given a fuck that he's gay. I'm not that kind of guy." I can't say I wouldn't have treated him different though. I knew I would have been nicer, knowing he wasn't into my girl. I was pissed that in the three years we'd dated, Bella never told me. I was even ticked off with Emmett, too. "When did you find out?"

"Does it matter when I knew about this E?" he asked. I told him to answer the question. And he did, with a huff. "Fine. I've known since high school," he held his hand up to stop me from talking over him. "And before you ask, no, I didn't know before I dated Bella."

"So you've been in the same situation as me. You dealt with this shit back then and didn't once think 'hey maybe I should tell Edward'?" I couldn't believe this.

"You're right. I did deal with it back in Forks. They spent a lot of time together and I was a jealous prick. The only thing Bella ever told me was to trust her and I should have. She's not the type of girl to play games like that, ya know? But one day at football practice, my buddy Adam tells me he saw Jake flirting and hugging all over B." He took a deep breath and steeled his gaze at me.

"When practice got done, I flipped out. I found Jake walking around the school and… Fuck. I ain't proud of this shit, but… I held him by the throat against a locker and screamed at him. Told him to stay away from my girl or I'd kick his ass, get the whole football team to make his life miserable. At some point in my yelling, I punched him in the gut a few times too."

"He took everything I did without a word, but when I threatened to make sure Bella wouldn't see him anymore he snapped. He started balling his eyes out, crying about how she was the only one who knew him, the real him. So I threw him to the ground and kicked him in the gut. When I turned around and started walking away I heard him gasp out '_It's not like that. I'm gay, not in love with her_'."

I was speechless. And I think it showed, because Emmett started speaking, trying to not only fill my silence, but defend himself.

"Like I said, it's not something I'm proud of. It took a long time to make amends with Jake, not because he was holding a grudge, but because I couldn't look at him and not feel disgusted with myself. It was a while before Bella spoke to me after that, too. We even broke up for a few months. Jake's the one who convinced her to give me another chance."

"How'd that happen?" The words came out of my mouth before I even realized I was thinking them.

"Well, Jake is a very forgiving guy. He didn't hold it against me, even if I held it against myself. I apologized, a lot. And I promised him I'd keep it a secret. We became friends after that, he saw I was just a dumb guy fighting for his girl. I promised myself, once I got to know him that I wouldn't let anyone fuck with him the way I did."

"He was there for me when B called it quits the final time. He stayed neutral and was able to be both our friends still. After I was over the bitterness and pain, Jake bridged the way for Bella and me to be friends again, too. I never would've met Rose or had the kids if it wasn't for him making sure I got my best friend back."

We both stayed quiet for a few minutes, sipping our beers. I was still trying to wrap my mind around all that Emmett had told me. If everything he had said was true, then I'd fucked up. Fucked up bad. But I also knew I wasn't solely responsible. I wouldn't have jumped to conclusions if I had been clued in on the truth.

And now, because we both screwed up, things were shot to hell. A simple I'm sorry wouldn't suffice to fix this situation. If it was fixable. And oh how I wished it was. I knew I'd have to find a way to get her back. But I had to know the extent of the damage first.

"How is she, man?" I asked picking at the bottle's label. Emmett sucked in a deep breath, before regarding me with a somber gaze.

"Pretty shitty. But what would you expect when the waiter tells you your boyfriend of three years was seen leaving with two chicks?" His eyes flicked over to me and mine widened in shock. "Yeah, she knows about that. Probably hurt her just as much as you not even having the decency to call her in the past two weeks to explain yourself."

"Shit. I'm so fucked. So, so, soooo fucked," I yelled, burying my face in my hands. "She's gonna hate me."

"What's that mean? Did you cheat on her?"

"Not exactly," I said trying to skirt around the subject. His eyes were filled with rage as they snapped to mine.

"What does 'not exactly' mean?" he asked. I didn't get to answer though, because his cell phone rang. He put a finger up and answered it. "Hey Rosie… Sure I can grab him on my way home… Yeah, that sounds good… What time… Who else is going… Yeah. Be home soon… Love you too."

After hanging up the phone he turned back to me, but didn't say anything. He seemed to be having a war inside his own head as he studied him. With a sigh and bob of his head he asked, "Are you gonna try to fix this shit?" When I nodded, he looked at me hard, as if assessing my honesty. "Good. You can start tonight. Me, Rosie, B, Alice and Jake are going out to Flat Notes, eight o'clock… You may want to show up and start groveling. I gotta go now, need to pick up Nicholas from a birthday party"

He stood up to leave after he finished the last sip of his beer. "Thanks, Em," I said as he opened the door. He looked back at me with a serious face, "I'm not doing it for you. She deserves to be happy." And with that he was out the door.

Sinking back into the couch I looked at the clock and saw I had five hours to figure out how to get back in Bella's good graces. I had no clue where to even begin. A bouquet of flowers, a card, chocolates… None of them were enough to say how sorry I was and have it be heartfelt. I was so screwed.

_**BPOV**_

I couldn't believe I let Ali and Rose drag me out tonight. I was more than content to watch my niece and nephew while they went out. But when they ganged up on me, I found it was easier to just go with the flow. And if I was being honest, a night watching people make fools of themselves at our favorite karaoke bar, Flat Notes, would be nice.

"Drink these," Rose said as she placed two drinks on the table in front of me. My brows furrowed, as I looked at her in question. "One's to take the edge off and get you started. The other is because if I can't drink, well… You're going to drink enough for me." She rubbed her huge stomach, as if I needed a reminder she was pregnant.

"Umm… Okay." I responded drawing out the word. I picked up the first glass, taking long pulls through the straw, when Alice and Jake walked up to the table wearing matching evil grins. Before I could even ask what they were up to, Ali dropped a huge black binder onto the table. Immediately realizing what she was up to I began to protest. "I don't think so. Nope. Not uh. No way."

"Oh, yes way! We are here to have fun!" She exuberated. "And fun we will have, do you hear me missy?"

"Yeah Bells, fun!" Jake then threw an arm around both Ali and I. "What should we sing tonight, hmm? I think you, me and half stack," he nodded towards Alice. "Should do some type of group jam."

"Maybe," I muttered, having no intentions of actually doing it. I just wanted to sit here, get a nice buzz going and laugh at the drunk people trying to simultaneously sing and not fall off the stage.

While the others started looking over the music choices, my focus was drawn to the stage and a lady in leopard print spandex pants, kitten heels, and a leather jacket. She was flipping her pouffy aqua-netted hair from side to side, and belting out a unique version of _Cherry Pie_. I smiled. This was definitely going to be night full of laughs.

Sometime during my fourth drink, I nearly pissed myself, thanks to Emmett and Alice. They took the stage and performed a rather interesting rendition of Young MC's _Bust a Move_. By the time they finished, back to back with their arms folded across chests, I had tears running down my face from laughing.

When they got back to the table we celebrated with shots of tequila. I gulped the liquid fast and slammed my glass on the table. Shaking my head and fighting against the pucker of my lips. I stood, announcing I was heading to the ladies room.

While inside, I thought about what a good time I was having. It had been two weeks since I'd had a good laugh. Sure, I knew I was still sad and that chances were I would be crying when I climbed into bed tonight, especially if I was drunk. But at that moment, I wasn't feeling anywhere near as bad as I had been earlier in the day. With a final look in the mirror, I gave myself a nod of determination, deciding I would go back out and have fun with my friends.

As I exited the bathroom, I practically ran into Jake. His arms shot out to hold me by my shoulders and the way he stood, blocked the hallway back towards the bar. I knew something was up as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Bells! Hey, how about we blow this joint?" His words were rushed and jumbled together so much I had to think hard about what he was saying. Any hint of cheer drained from my face as I shrugged him off.

"What's going on? I'm finally having a good time and you want to bail? I don't think so, Jakey." I told him with a shake of my head. He made one more weak attempt to get me to go, but I ducked under his arm and made my way back to the main room.

Nothing seemed out of place, except for the looks on my friends faces. Alice seemed worried, Rose was glaring at Emmett and Emmett… Well he looked a lot like his five year old son did when he was in trouble. I sat, getting ready to ask what was going on when the DJ's voice floated through the speakers.

"We're gonna change it up for this next song, try something we don't normally do. My buddy Edward here wants to play his own music for this one. Take it away, bro."

Edward? No, it couldn't be. He wouldn't be here, right? _Wrong_. As soon as my eyes flicked up to the stage I spotted him. The scruffy, messy bronze haired asshole was fiddling with his electric keyboard.

I was frozen to my spot. I wanted to run, to book it out the door and be as far away from him as possible. But no matter what I wanted, my body wouldn't move.

"C'mon B, let's go," Jake said, tugging my arm, trying to get me up.

"No," Emmett cried out, clamping a hand on my opposite side. Normally I would have told both of them to fuck off and do whatever I wanted. But I couldn't take my eyes off of Edward. Once he stopped messing with the keyboard, he looked up, seeming to be searching for something. I felt sick, not wanting to know who he was singing to. But his eyes stopped when they met mine. He took a deep breath, and made his intentions clear.

"Hi. I… Ughh… I fucked up. And I hurt someone that I love, very deeply. But, I'm hoping she can forgive me." He cleared his throat and after a second music notes and his soothing voice filled the air.

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So... How was it? Good? Bad? Hate me for ending it there? Leave me a review and let me know. You'll get a teaser for the next chapter in return. I was kind of fail at getting those out this time - sent them out this morning - But hey you got this chapter in 10 days instead of 14.

Check out my profile in a bit, I'll be adding some pictures, outfits and such.

Also tomorrow, as a special Valentines day post... I will be posting an outtake of OHP. Check my profile tomorrow night if you'd like to read it. It shows Bella and Edward's first meeting. It was touched upon in chapter one.

Special thanks, spanks, hugs and gropes to my Beta Force! Laura (BusyMommy), Simone (Donut_Magnet) and Muffy (Muffysworld)... Thanks for turning my shit into something worth reading.

Next update in 10-14 days...

~Ash


	6. Chapter 5

Hello. I'm back, again! And I bring with me chapter five.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I would just like to point out that, since I am an impatient biotch, this has only seen the eyes of myself and one of my 3 - yes you read correctly,3 - beta's. Any mistakes are all on me, as I wanted to get this out tonight and I feel like crap, so I'm anxious to go back to bed.

The song that Edward sings is _Baby Come Home_ by Chester See - A link to the version i envison can be found on my FFn page.

SM owns Twilight and all things associated with it... I own a crappy cold, that needs to go away because Saturday night, I'm going to see Bobby Long in Boston.

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**_EPOV_**

It had taken me a few hours and accidentally playing one of Bella's saved play lists on my iPod before I knew what I needed to do. Immediately I put my plan to work.

First thing on my list was call Flat notes and speak to the manager. I asked her if there was any way I'd be able to play a song that night. Being that it was a karaoke bar, she was extremely hesitant. Even mumbling something about not wanting it to turn into an open mic night for any dumb guy who screwed up. She did eventually cave in: it only took me paying her three hundred dollars. We agreed that I would get to play one song on stage at ten o'clock.

My next task was learning to play the song on my keyboard. After scouring the internet and finding nothing to help me, I listened to the song on repeat for two hours. By the end of that time it was drilled so far into my brain, I was certain I would never forget how to play it.

After taking a shower and getting changed, I started packing up my keyboard to take with me. Just as I was finishing zippering the case my phone rang. I answered it without looking at the caller ID. Big mistake.

"Hey Eddie," Tanya purred into the phone. I cringed. I had lived in a drunken stupor the past two weeks, but the first few days were more of drunk and stupid. Both she and Vicki had been blowing up my phone for the past week or so.

"Umm, hey T. Listen, I've got to go. Okay?"

"No," she screeched into the phone. "You've been avoiding me and Vicki for days. I want to know why." She wasn't going to make this easy. I knew I'd just have to lay it out for her.

"Tanya, I've known you for a long, long time. But it's not going to work with us like that. Last week, chilling with you two, it wasn't right." I paused, hoping to make my next statement that much more pertinent, but Tanya freaked out before I could.

"What is that supposed to mean? Huh? You didn't have fun? You don't care about me?" I rolled my eyes at her whining. Somehow, in the thick fog of alcohol, I had forgotten that she had always been a whiney little brat. And that if she didn't get her way, she'd huff and puff until you gave in. Not this time though. No, I was holding my ground. "I'm sure your mom would be ashamed that you're being so mean to me. And if you're worried about hurting Vicki's feelings don't be. We agreed that whoever you chose was fine with us."

"God damn it Tanya! Listen to me!" I yelled into the phone. "You and me, it's never going to happen. Ever. You can tell Vicki the same thing. I made a stupid mistake last week, multiple fucking bad choices. I am in love with someone! I was ready to propose and got freaked out, and… Fuck! Somehow I ended up partying with you and Vicki. I regret it, so fucking much."

"You don't mean that, Eddie. I know you don't." Great, she was crying now.

"T, I'm sorry if you feel like I led you on. I really am. But my heart belongs to someone else, and I'll do anything to be with her. I hope you understand and that one day we can be friends again. Now I have to go, goodbye."

I hung up and felt a wave of relief come over me. Before going to the club with them, I had no idea Tanya ever had feelings for me. Gradually over the course of those first four days she enlightened me to the fact that she'd liked me since we were twelve. I didn't know what to make of it. Adding to the confusion of Tanya's confession was my guilt.

Every second that passed since I left the restaurant made it rise. It wasn't even guilt for hanging out with the girls, just guilt that I'd walked away. And now it was even worse because I knew I had hurt Bella so bad. I could only hope that tonight's grand gesture would start fixing all that I had broken.

Shouldering my bag I headed to my car. Once the keyboard was secured in the trunk I hoped into the driver's seat and started making my way to Flat Notes. The closer I got to the bar the more nervous I became. My hands were even shaking as I gripped the steering wheel. Pulling into a parking spot had never been such a relief before.

As I surveyed the bar I could make out Emmett's huge form in the distance. The group appeared to be having a great time, each one of them shaking with laughter. Bella was facing away from me, so all I could see was her hair, but by the bounce of her shoulders, I knew she was cracking up. It made me smile.

Squeezing my way into a spot at the bar, I asked for the manager. I gave her an envelope containing the money, and she told me there were two songs before I was up and the DJ already knew what was going on. Everything was set, all I had to do was wait. As I turned to look at the stage again, I was met with a death glare from a pair of ice blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Rosalie was sneering at me. _Shit_, I thought, _this could get bad_.

"I'm here to see Bella."

"Emmett," she yelled. He appeared by her side, giving me an apologetic smile. "Drag him out of here before B gets back from the bathroom."

"No," he said softly, seemingly afraid to say the word. When she asked him what he said, he cleared his throat and repeated it louder. "I said 'no'. I'm not kicking him out, Rosie."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because he deserves the chance to apologize to her. Now calm down before you put yourself into early labor." he told her as he reached out to rub a hand over her swollen stomach. She smacked his hand away, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't like this, not one little bit. And I refuse to let her be ambushed by _him,_" she glared in my direction. I didn't even get a chance to defend myself, or my actions, before she was storming to the table. She then said something to Jake, and he took off in the direction of the bathrooms.

"Well that didn't go so well," I sighed. Emmett just nodded as the horribly sung cover of _I Got You, Babe _was close to being complete. "That's my cue… I'm up next."

"I'll make sure she sees whatever you've got planned. Good luck." He clapped a hand on my back and went back to the table.

I made my way to the DJ booth, and told him who I was just as the drunken couple finished. He unraveled a few cords, and grabbed a stool for me. After pointing out the input jacks for my keyboard, he left me to set up.

Once I knew all the settings were correct, I looked up to face the crowd. My eyes searched through the sea of faces, looking for hers. I had to make sure she saw me and knew this was for her. The look on her face told me she had figured out that I was here for her and her alone. I took one last deep breath to calm myself.

"Hi. I… Ughh," I stumbled over the words. "I fucked up. And I hurt someone that I love, very deeply. But I'm hoping she can forgive me." Clearing my throat, I looked down, and pressed the first key.

_I woke up this morningYour pillowcase I was holdingI was only dreaming it was youI tried my best to let it goSomething wouldn't let me thoughI might have been pretending but it's all I can doI've tried wishing on starsclosing my eyes so hardmade deals, made vows, tried screaming outOh Baby come homeI can't go on without you here with meOh Baby come Homethe pain gets too strong without you I'm too weakbut nothing I do, Brings you back to me_

Watching her, I couldn't figure out what she was thinking. For a second she looked like she might smile, but in a flash her brows were furrowed in agitation. I closed my eyes in an attempt to rid the sight of her anger

_It's getting harder every single dayalways thinking that I see your faceI feel you near, I hear your name everywhere I goBut when I realize it's in my headit breaks my heart once againit takes some time before it sinks in then I lose controlSo I'm done wishing on starsclosing my eyes so hardno more deals, no more vows, I'm done screaming outOh Baby come homeI can't go on without you here with meOh Baby come Homethe pain gets too strong without you I'm too weakbut nothing I do, Brings you back _

I stood up pushing the stool back; it fell over in the process. With every word I let out, I felt a little bit more hopeful. She had to be able to see what she meant to me and that I was sorry. So fucking sorry.

_Time told me it will be alrightI'm not gonna lie, I'm losing this fightand Time told me she'll heal all my woundsas deep as I'm cut no I'm not healing soonOh Baby come homeI can't go on without you here with meOh Baby come Homethe pain gets too strong without you I'm too weakbut nothing I do, Brings you back to me_

Letting the last sung note carry, I played the keys to the closing. My eyes were locked with hers, but my head fell when she stood hastily, moving towards the exit. Without giving it much thought, I jumped off the stage, knocking my keyboard over in the process and ran after her.

"Bella," I called out, only to see her shoulders tense and her pace quicken. Then ten feet ahead of me my view of her was blocked out by Jake. Right as I was about to yell at him to move or I'd knock his ass out, Emmett shoved him, giving me a clear path to the exit. As I passed by, Jake was struggling to get out of Em's grasp, while Em told him to shut the fuck up.

Pushing the door open I frantically searched the lot. I knew she couldn't have gone to far, her car wasn't here when I pulled in, only Emmett's suburban. As I ran to where it was parked I passed the corner of the building and heard crying. I stopped short, without even looking I knew it was her. Slowly I turned and saw her crouched down, leaning against the wall.

"Bell," I whispered. Her tear drenched face snapped up to meet mine.

"Just go away, Edward." The tears were still rolling down her cheeks, her hands not able to wipe them away fast enough. All the guilt and pain I felt before was nothing compared to the emotions brought out of me as seeing her cry did. With slow steps I walked over, then knelt down in front of her.

"Bella, please… Please hear me out." I wasn't above begging.

"I don't know that I want to hear what you have to say," she said in an uneven voice. Her eyes shut tight, and she took a few shuddering breaths. "'Cause I'm pretty sure, it wont make a fucking difference."

"Then, what do you got to lose?" She didn't respond, so I took it for her acquiescence. "Let me start by telling you how sorry I am. I know it's not enough, and it doesn't make anything better, but it's true. I am so sorry for everything." She looked me in the eye and I could see questions swimming in hers.

"What I did was wrong; I won't sit here and argue it's not. But I was scared and insecure and angry. So fucking angry. But mostly I was afraid…" I let the words hang for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to say all the things floating in my head. Not even realizing I had done it until I felt her warmth, I looked down to see my hands clasping one of hers. "Bell, I was so afraid that what I felt for you wasn't enough. That you didn't feel the same. And it would have killed me for you to not return my love. Because I love you, so fucking much."

The declaration of my feelings wasn't even fully out of my mouth when Bella ripped her hand from mine. She pushed on my chest, and I fell backwards onto the ground. Abruptly she stood up, pointing a finger at me.

"Love me? Really, Edward? You say how much you 'fucking love me'," she yelled with air quotes. "But you walked out on me!"

"Bel-" I was cut off.

"No! No, you don't get to speak right now. But I do," she stated, gesturing to herself. "Sorry? What are you even sorry for? Maybe it was taking off from dinner without a word? Or was it leaving with two skanks? How about how for two weeks - two fucking weeks - you didn't even have the decency to break shit off like a man. Hell, even a text saying you were over it, over me, over us would have sufficed; at least than I wouldn't have worried you were dead, asshole!"

Taking a few steps back, she turned away form and tilted her head to the sky. Her back was heaving and the deep pulls of air into her lungs could be heard. Slowly I stood up, but didn't make a move to approach her.

"You're right, I am an asshole. But…" I was struggling to say everything I wanted. My mind was racing from one thing to the next and I couldn't decipher what direction I should go. Finally I just blurted something out. "Did you know, that I thought you'd leave me for Jake?" Her head whipped around, showing her shock at my question. Awkwardly I nodded my head.

"Yeah. I guess I've always worried about his feelings for you. I mean, you've been friends since diapers, he followed you from Forks to Chicago for college… I don't know, it sounds stupid now, but there were times I felt like I was waiting for you to realize he was more than just your buddy."

"Yeah, it does sound stupid," she agreed. The hint of attitude in her voice kind of pissed me off. She hid stuff from me too. Sure I made the major screw ups, but they wouldn't have happened if she'd have told me about Jake's preference for guys.

"That's rich B. Up until this morning I still thought he wanted in your pants." She asked what changed my mind. "A little chat with Emmett. Would've been nice to know Jake would've rather gotten into my boxers than you thongs" Her jaw dropped. _Good_, I thought, she knows she messed up.

"Jake being gay should have in no way affected our relationship, Edward. Besides, you should have trusted me and believed me when I said I loved you." Her finger was pointed in my direction.

"Yeah, maybe I should have… But telling me that might have eased my mind on the fact that some dude was always hanging around you! You could trust me all you want, but you'd never be okay if some chick was crashing our dates the way Jake did."

"Don't throw this on Jacob. What happened that night is in no way his fault," she defended.

"I never said it was, but for one second can you look at it through my eyes…" I trailed off. After a few moments she bit her lip and gave me a little nod. "Okay, so take all of that, plus the fact that from the moment he sat down at our table I felt like a third wheel on my own date with you…" Reaching into my pocket I pulled out the velvet box. With it lying flat on my open palm, I addressed her once again. "Now add in how I had planned on proposing to you that night." The words barely made it out of my mouth.

She whispered a faint 'oh my god' and tears leaked from her eyes, again. Slowly I took a few steps toward her

"I'm not saying any of this to make you feel guilty - the guilt, it should lay with me. I just thought you should know." I reached for her hand and placed the box in it. "This belongs with you, but you can do whatever you want with it."

Her lips parted in protest, but I put a finger to them, silencing her. I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. Her arms were trapped between us, still holding the ring box. Moving my lips towards her ear, I pushed out the last of my speech.

"You have every right to hate me, I accept that. But if I tried, do you think you could ever give me another chance?"

"You're wrong," she whispered after a few moments. "I don't hate you. But even if you try, I don't know that I can ever forgive you." With tears trailing down my cheeks I nodded. Pulling back just enough, I gave her a kiss on the forehead. My eyes squeezed shut from the pain of it all. Without looking at her, I moved around her and walked away, again.

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**A/N**

Yes, I left it there... No, I will not be posting the next chapter earlier than in the next 10 to 14 days time period. That being said, let's move on with this portion of the A/N.

I want to start off by saying, I am overwhelmed by how much love - or other emotions in a lot of cases - you all have shown this fic. I never thought I'd get 50 reviews, never mind teetering on the brink of 100. It blows my mind, really.

I have posted the small OHP outtake, it's listed on my FFn page as a story entitled- Percentiles: Extras and outtakes from OHP. I encourage you all to take a look. I also added a new o/s to my list of written work. It's called Stuck on You, just a small fluffy E/B piece written for a friends birthday.

Thanks goes out to Donut_Magnet- Simone you rock! She is the 1 beta I used this chapter.

To Laura (busy_mommy) and Muffysworld- thanks for your help, even though I didn't wait for you guys this chapter. I'm impatient like that.

I believe that's it. See ya next time, I hope.

~Ash


	7. Chapter 6

Look! Another update coming right in on that 2 week marker! I was surprised by the different opinions regarding last chapter- some felt bad for Edward, others for Bella. Some just thought they were both dumb-asses.

SM owns Twilight. I own a possible case of bronchitis or pneumonia.

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_**BPOV**_

I stood, staring at the velvet box clutched in my hand. My emotions were all over the place. He wanted to marry me, had a ring even. But since I couldn't guarantee him things would be set straight, I had to watch him walk away. The fading sounds of his steps jarred something inside of me. It took me a few moments to turn and yell out for him.

"Edward!" he stopped, but left his back facing me. I called out to him again, running to where he was across the lot. When I got behind him, I grabbed his arm, urging him to turn around. Slowly he gave in to my tugging and the sight that greeted me crushed me. Tears were streaking down Edward's cheeks.

"Please, don't cry," I whispered and brought my hands up to wipe his tears. Before I could make contact with his face, he shifted his head away.

"Just don't, okay?" his voice was soft, and shaky. "Just… I can't do this Bell. I laid out all I felt, don't play games with me. You just said you couldn't forgive me."

"I know," I nodded. "But then I had to watch you actually walk away… And god, it hurt to see that." My crying hadn't stopped, just thinking of him exiting my life had the waterworks coming harder than before. Grabbing his hand, I squeezed it like my life depended on it. I used the connection to ground myself to him and the moment.

"I don't want to lose you, Edward… But it's going to take some time to get over what you did." Our eyes were locked as I spoke and I could see the hope my words brought him.

"I can work with that. I'll do whatever I can to make this up to you." He pulled me towards him, wrapping me in a hug. I wasted no time in winding my arms around his torso. As we were standing there I could hear him taking deep shuddering breaths, while his tears dropped onto my cheeks.

"Bella," he breathed. "Baby, I love you. So damn much."

Even though my head and heart were still hurting over his previous actions, I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good to hear him say those words. But I wasn't ready to give them back to him so freely, not after knowing how it felt to have them disregarded so easily.

"I know you do. And you know how I feel, too. Just let that be enough for now, because I'm not ready to say it yet." He murmured an okay, then gently kissed the top of my head.

Being in his arms felt so good. It had been weeks since I last let myself feel this relaxed. It would be so easy to pull him down and kiss him or tell him to take me home right then. But I knew we had so many things to talk about and work through.

I was almost dreading some of the conversations that I was sure would be taking place. One of the most worrisome was about the two women he left with. The ideas floating in my mind were driving me nuts. I just kept hoping my imagination was worse than reality.

"Hey," he pulled pack and looked into my eyes. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Just letting my mind wander…" I trailed off, giving him an uneasy smile. Immediately his lips plummeted into a frown. Gently he pulled away, but then grabbed my hand and walked me to his car. Leaning back against it, he wrapped his arms around me, and drew me close to him once more.

"I know we've got a shit load to talk about, but for now…" he sighed. "Can we just _be_ for the moment?" the question was left hanging in the air until I gave a slight nod of agreement. Edward let out a relieved sigh, and pressed our foreheads together, tenderly gazing into my eyes. "Good. Because I just want to hold you in my arms, and soak up all of you that I can."

Soon, however our quiet moment was soon broken by the sound of footsteps coming towards us. We both turned in the direction of shoes smacking pavement to find a swollen lipped Jacob. I could detect the moment Edward saw who it was as his grip on me tightened.

Taking in our cozy position, Jacob's eyes narrowed to a scowl. He tried to clench his lips in anger, but gave up and winced. Whoever had hit him must've landed a hard shot.

"What's going on here?" my best friend asked through gritted teeth.

"Jake," my head shook as I tried to convey through a look for him to drop it. But, Jacob being Jacob, continued anyway.

"Get your hands off of her," Jake yelled. Edward's harsh breath through his nose was the only response given. "Are you deaf, asshole? Let her go, before I make you!"

I tried to extricate myself from Edward's grip, but he didn't want to let go. I had to assure him that I wasn't going anywhere for him to fully release me. Swiveling, I set my sights on Jake. He was not happy, at all.

"Bells, what are you doing? Don't let some cheesy song at a karaoke bar fool you. He's a douchebag."

"Hey, there's no need to say shit like that, Jake." His anger wasn't hard to understand, but that did not give him the right to say what he had. Sure, since that ill-fated night I used more hateful words in regards to Edward than I could count. But honestly, it was all in the name of a broken heart.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" His question was followed by a noise of disgust. "He's got his hooks in you so deep! How else could you explain taking him back?"

"You watch your mouth!" Edward roared from behind me. "You don't know shit! You hear me? Nothing!"

Putting myself in between them, I made sure fists wouldn't start flying the way their words had. They both stood at either end of my arms, chests pressed into my outstretched hand as they continued to sling insults. This little scuffle made it clear that reincorporating Edward into my life may not be the easiest thing. But to me, he was more than worth it.

"Guys! Shut up!" my yelling took them by surprise, and they both zipped their lips. "I'm not gonna deal with this shit." I threw my hands in the air, and rounded to face Edward.

"He's my best friend, and while said friend is being a prick right now, you can't just scream at him. Give me some credit, I can give him just as much crap as he gives me." He started to open his mouth, so I clamped my hand over it. "No. I get it. You're mad at him for keeping you in the dark all these years. But that's my fault too. And even though he's running his mouth right now… It's with good reason. He's just worried for me."

After letting out a deep exhale through his nose, Edward nodded and snuck in a little peck on my hand before I took it away from his face. I flashed him a little smile, then put my best bitch-face on and turned to Jacob.

"And you!" I threw a finger in his direction. "You know better than to say that kind of shit to me. We've been friends for how long? Jake, I love you, but if you speak to me like that again…" my head shook. "You'll be looking for a new best friend. Capiche?" His eyes widened at the news I could fire him as a friend. With a solemn expression he moved his head in the affirmative. "Good. Seriously, we've been pals since pre-school, you know I wouldn't just take him back. But even if I did, you don't have the right to scream at me over it."

"Bells, I'm just worried. I don't want to see you hurt again," he pleaded.

"I get that. But what you don't know, because you're jumping to conclusions, is that I'm not just taking him back. We're gonna take things slow and try to work past it." His arms crossed his chest in defiance. "I love him Jakey… I owe it to myself to try. And as my bestie, you gotta support me."

"Fine," he huffed after a few moments. "But I don't have to like it."

"No, you don't. Just accept it and we'll be good." He yanked me closer and gave me a hug, whispering sorry into my ear. "So what happened to you lip?" I asked as I pulled away.

"Oh, umm… I kind of got into it with Em." he said sheepishly. "We were arguing, he wouldn't let me go after you… I sort of threw a punch. He might end up with a black eye."

"You didn't," I gasped, and heard Edward start laughing behind me. Jake and I looked at each other, then at Edward as if he was crazy. He reached out, pulling me into his arms still laughing.

"That busted lip is gonna be the least of your problems," Edward raised a hand from my waist and pointed to Jake. "If Emmett still has a black eye when the baby's born… Rose will beat your ass for messing up the first picture of him holding it." Jake's face paled and went slack.

"Oh, shit, I need to go get a bag of ice for Em's face," he mumbled. "Bells, we're all leaving in a few. Meet us at the truck." And with that he took off in a sprint back towards the bar. We both started cracking up the moment Jake was out of sight.

"You know, I wouldn't put it past Rosalie to do such a thing," I told Edward as my laughter faded.

"Me either, that's why I said it. Although I'm glad she'll be on Jake's ass this time. Remember when Abby was born?" The small smile on his face brought out my own. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

The first picture of Edward holding little Abby featured him in a Santa suit. We had gone to his father's Christmas party for the children's hospital earlier that night. Seeing him interacting with the little ones had me wanting to jump his bones. And I did, in the private bathroom of Dr. Cullen's office.

However, while we were still catching our breath, I got a call from Emmett saying my cousin was in labor. The only clothing Edward had with him was the Santa suit, and we didn't have the time to stop and change. So in a rumpled dress, wrinkly Santa getup and sex hair we hightailed it across town.

Two hours after walking through the doors of the woman's hospital, Abigail Nicole McCarty was born. When Edward and I finally got to see her and get our first picture done with her Rose was freaking out. She told Edward he'd better start carrying a change of clothes with him if he was still around for her next baby.

"Hey," he broke me from my flash from the past. He pulled me to the trunk of the car, and opened it. Inside was a duffle bag containing jeans, shirts and toiletries for the two of us. "I had put that in right when I'd first brought the car home. I know its kind of a moot point now, but I thought you'd get a kick out of knowing I was prepared."

My eyes were watering with his statement. It was an aching reminder that despite the jokes, everything between us was still fucked up. Looking away from him I mumbled that I should get going.

"Let me take you home," he begged, holding one of my hands between his. I contemplated his offer, but knew it wasn't a smart choice.

"I don't think that's the best idea. We've both said a lot of things tonight and maybe it'd be better to just let things settle for a few days, you know?" He gave me a weak okay, but the look on his face displayed his disappointment.

"Can I at least walk you to Em's truck?" he asked. I almost wanted to laugh at him though. His hands were buried in his pockets, eyes looking at me through his lashes on his down turned face. Even the voice he used… it all made me think of a sheepish, shy little boy asking the first girl he liked a question.

"Yeah. I think I'd like that," I told him. With that Edward closed the trunk and took my hand. Slowly we made our way over to Emmett's monster sized suburban. The closer we got the easier it was to make out Rose's yelling. Then crying.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Rose sniffled from the front passenger seat. I was about to ask what was going on but stopped when I saw Jake's face. He had what appeared to be the start of a black eye and his nose was looking a little swollen, on top of his already busted lip.

"Whoa," Edward whispered from my side. "I didn't think she'd actually do it."

"It's okay Rosie," Jake said and put his hand on her belly. "Is the little one alright though?" She told him the baby was fine. Then she reached over and took the ice bag away from Emmett's face and handed it to Jake.

"Hey," Em protested. "That's my ice!"

"Not anymore," was Rose's response. "You don't need it like he does. The pretty face is all he's got going for him," she laughed. We all knew that wasn't the case as Jake was in law school. My laugh gained her attention, her eyes zeroing in on mine and Edward's clasped hands. "Well, this is an interesting development."

"Babe," Emmett tapped her leg. "Don't start." Rose huffed and locked her gaze forward, out the window.

Tugging on Edward's hand I led him over to the driver's side, intent on getting in behind Emmett. When we got to the door Edward opened it, and let me slide inside.

"I'll call you, in a few days, okay?"

"You promise?" he asked warily.

"Cross my heart," I said and made the gesture over my chest. "Talk to you soon."

"Soon," he repeated weakly, with a sad smile. Then Edward shut the door and turned to walk away. When he got a few feet away I rolled my window and called out to him. I motioned him back over to the truck.

"I forgot one thing." I leaned out the window and planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Good night."

He gave me a breathtaking grin as he took a step back, causing me to smile right back. Emmett asking if he could leave yet didn't even faze me. I just reached my hand forward and flicked him in the ear.

"Ouch! You're lucky I love you B, cause that shit ain't kosher." Emmett continued to grumble under his breath as he drove. Pulling up to mine and Ali's house, I was relieved. Rose hadn't said a word about the Edward situation. The relief was short lived however. As I was just about to walk up the porch stairs I heard her.

"Isabella Marie," she sang out. "Don't think I'm letting you off the hook. Tomorrow you will come over for lunch and explain."

"I will?"

"Oh, yes, you will. Nick and Abby would be so hurt if you didn't show up," Rose grinned evilly. "I told them earlier you'd be over tomorrow. Wouldn't want to break your niece and nephew's hearts, now would ya?"

"Fine," I huffed. "I'll be over at noon. You better make me a Panini, bitch."

"Love you, too dearest cousin!" Her laughter disappeared as she rolled the window up and Emmett pulled away.

I caught up to Alice at the door as she was unlocking it. As soon as she swung the door open, I heard our babies greet us from the living room. After the night I'd had all I wanted was to cuddle in bed with my boy.

Walking into the living room, we were greeted by the sight of our fur balls running around like crazy. I was so happy to see them. And it appeared, after the first night both Alice and I had gone out at the same time, they were happy to see us too.

Two months ago we both decided we wanted a pet, but couldn't decide on what type of dog to get. So we each got our own. Alice decided on a female Pomeranian that she named Lacy Silk Brandon. While I chose a male husky and chose to call him Levi Denim Swan.

After letting Levi out to do his nighttime business I made my way to my room. I was hoping to go right to sleep, exhausted after the craziness of the evening. But it appeared Ali had other plans. She was perched on my bed, pint of Ben and Jerry's in hand, with two spoons. With a crook of her index finger and a smirk I knew she wanted details.

"Ali, get out. I want to sleep."

"No," she whined. "You need to tell me what happened with the asshole tonight."

"Can't you just wait until tomorrow to ask me?" I questioned while pulling pajamas out of my dresser. "You can come to lunch with me over at Rose and Em's place."

She continued to talk to me through the door of my bathroom as I changed and washed off my makeup. Finally, she agreed to wait until lunch the next day to hear me out. But she also made sure to point out the longer I waited, the more time she had to come up with questions. On top of that, it would also be Rose on my case instead of just herself.

"Then that's my own fault. I guess I'll just have to deal with it. Now out, so we can get some sleep. Right Levi?" His response was a cute puppy snore, as he was already passed out at the foot of my bed. Alice finally relented and left my room, taking the ice cream with her.

As tired as I was sleep didn't come as quickly as I thought it would. I laid in bed staring out the window at the moon. My mind was filled with thoughts of Edward and how we could make things work again. My cell phone chimed with a text alert from my night stand.

_I know you said you'd call. But I couldn't resist saying goodnight._

_Sleep well, Beautiful._

I smiled at his Edward's message. It gave me a feeling of hope. Maybe we hadn't lost everything after all. As I finally started to drift into a slumber, I let my thoughts drift to potential happier times in my future.

* * *

So, still want to kill me? I Hope not, because I do think I handled that well. Let's have an important little chat though… Bad news, I am out of already written chapters. Good news, The next chapter has a decent chunk written. More bad news, I'm not sure you'll get it in 2 weeks… But I'll try my hardest.

Next order of business. Thanks to the chicks who beta'd this chapter- Donut_Magnet, Busymommy and MuffysWorld. Thanks for cleaning up my mistakes. I'd send you all cookies if I could.

Be sure to check out my profile for some links. I'm learning how to use polypore, so those will be up soon. For now though, you can meet Levi and Lacy.

My girl CitizenCullen25 pimped OHP out in her latest update, so she deserves a thanks and cookies too… Since I'm sick though, I'll just tell you all to go check out her stories. She writes a bad ass and infuriating mafia don Edward, a sweet slightly crazy yoga instructor Edward and a handful of others who pretty much rock too.

Until next time,

Ash


	8. Chapter 7

Long time, no see, huh? Sorry guys, it's been a shitty month. Remember the last chapter when I said I probably owned pneumonia or bronchitis? Yeah, well I did. Was pretty sick, then my nephew was in the hospital for a week. But I've finally gotten the chapter done.

SM owns Twilight, but I bought a Mini-Eclipse Edward for $4 the other day. ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**EPOV**

The ringing of my phone broke me from the staring contest I was having with the ceiling. I hurried to look at the screen, hoping Bella had finally decided to call me. It'd been five days since our talk at _Flat Notes _and I'd been on pins and needles waiting. A wave of relief, followed quickly by nervousness rolled over me when I saw her name and picture flash across the display.

"Hello!" I screeched into the phone, my voice cracking awkwardly. I wanted to kick myself for how eager I sounded.

"Hi," she giggled, clearly amused.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked, causing her to laugh even more. "You totally are. I'm glad I amuse you," I huffed, then started chuckled along with her.

Once we calmed ourselves there was an awkward silence. It was kind of unnerving, we'd never had this issue, even in the beginning of our relationship. It was apparent that she wasn't going to be the one to get this conversation rolling, so I did.

"So, I'm, uh, I'm glad you called. More than glad, actually."

"Well, if I'm being honest, I'm glad you picked up" She paused before adding "I didn't think you would."

"Bella," I started. "I've waited on pins and needles all week for this call. I know you'd said it'd be a few days… But damn, I'd hoped you'd call me right away. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not thrilled to hear from you. Because I totally am. I want nothing more than to work this all out and just be with you again."

I was hoping I didn't come across too strong, but I had to make sure she knew my exact intentions. I'd done so much thinking since my talk with Emmett. I knew that day he'd laid things out that I'd fucked up. But as the days passed without word from Bella, I'd taken a harder look at the whole situation. I'd allowed myself to try and see things from her perspective as well.

"I know," she said. "But, things between us may never get back to where they were and I think you need to keep that in mind. I want this, but it's going to take some time to work through everything."

"I know," my words were soft. I cleared my throat a few times, trying to find a way to steer this talk away from potentially losing her. "So…"

"Yeah, so…" she replied. "I was wondering if you maybe you wanted to grab some ice cream tonight?"

She barely got done asking me before I was practically yelling that I'd love to go. After a quick discussion, we decided that I would pick her up when she closed the shop, then we'd hit up this awesome old-fashioned ice cream joint. Before we hung up though, there was one thing I had to know.

"Bell, why ice cream? Why not coffee or dinner? Isn't that what most people talk over?"

"Well," she started. "I figured there's a chance that this conversation could go really bad. And to be honest, I love my coffee a little too much to risk tainting it with a memory like that." She laughed, a little awkwardly before adding, "Plus, who can be mad with a hot fudge sundae in front of them?"

We said our goodbyes and immediately I was attacked by nerves. I knew tonight was a big step towards mending our relationship and it had my stomach in knots. As much as I wanted to be optimistic I couldn't help the doubts plaguing my mind as I thought over everything I'd have to tell her.

I killed the few hours until I needed to pick Bella up by working on some sketches for a new jersey line. Even though I was in charge of my own line of markers and gear, I still had to answer to the actual big-wigs of my company, _EC Extreme_. I'd definitely slacked on all my work obligations since the night I fucked everything up and there were a few deadlines looming in the not so distant future.

After getting some basic sketches done, I looked up to see that I was running short on time. sprinting into the bathroom, I took what had to be one of the quickest showers of my life. In under three minutes I was standing in front of my dresser throwing on clothes.

After throwing some gel into my hair and sliding on my sandals I grabbed my wallet before taking a second to decide on which vehicle to take. As much as I loved driving my Maserati, I opted to leave it at home, just because it was the car I drove _that_ night. Plucking the keys to my Cadillac pickup off their hook, I raced out of the house.

Traffic was on my side, and I pulled up to _Dolce Amore_, Bella and Alice's confectionary shop a few minutes early. Through the front window I could see my girl straightening up a few things behind the counter, and bopping her head to some unknown beat. When she looked up and spotted me, she gave me a small wave and then indicated with one finger it'd be a minute longer.

When she finally came out, I noticed her carrying a few pastry boxes. I stepped out of the truck and jogged over to take them from her. She thanked me, then finished locking up the shop. I placed the boxes on the floor of the backseat, then opened the passenger door for her.

Once I was settled back into the driver's seat, I felt a bit lost. Normally before even starting the engine, I'd be leaning over to hug and kiss her. Now, I wasn't sure what was appropriate. I settled for telling her she looked nice.

"How was work?" I asked, hoping to strike up some casual conversation.

"It was good. We hired a new girl for the morning shift, she's pretty nice," she said. Then she threw her arms up in an excited fashion. "Oh, and we landed the Henderson account!"

"That's the one with three huge, showpiece cakes right?"

"Yeah! It's going to be so crazy," she exclaimed. "It's got the potential to get us a lot more business. Even if the cakes are for five year old triplets. These high-society moms always have to outdo each other."

"Wow. Babe, that's awesome! I'm so proud of you," I told her, reaching over and squeezing her hand. I held onto it for a second before I realized I may have overstepped my boundaries. But when I went to pull away, she gripped me tighter.

"I know I said slow, but I think holding hands would be okay." Just as she finished I came to a stop light. It gave me the chance to look over at her and I was happy to see that there was a slight smile on her lips.

"Anything you want, Bella, anything at all. This is all on your pace, I'll take what I can and do my best to earn more," I punctuated my declaration with a kiss to her knuckles. We fell into a, thankfully, comfortable silence for the rest of the way to the ice cream parlor.

We walked inside with our hands clasped once more. Standing in line, we talked about what kind of sundaes we were going to order. I picked a three scoop banana split with strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Bella chose a hot fudge sundae with strawberry ice cream. But instead of a cherry on top, she added a chocolate covered strawberry.

I insisted on paying and when our treats were ready, I carried them over to a semi-secluded table. A few bites in, I looked up only to see Bella just mushing her ice cream around. I placed a hand on hers and waited until she looked at me before asking if she was all right.

"I, uh, yeah, I'm okay. I'm just trying to figure our how to start talking about the important things."

"Hrmm," I pondered for a second. "Would it be easier for me to just talk about what I was thinking and feeling and doing? Or would you prefer to ask me questions on what you want and need to know right now? Either way is fine, you'll get my honest answers regardless."

She seemed to contemplate for a minute. "I think, maybe for now, I should just ask some stuff."

"Okay, whatever you want to know," I said, seeking to reassure her that I was sincere.

"Well, you've already explained why you felt the way you did. And I guess I get it, but we can come back to that," she paused, breathing deeply before continuing, "Who were the girls you left with? And how the hell did that come about?"

"One was Tanya Denali, Carmen and Elezar's daughter. Do you remember them from some of my parents' parties?" Bella nodded her head. "When I was coming back from the restroom I ran into her. Seriously, I was lost in my head and walked into her, almost knocking her down. We went through the standard pleasantries; How are you? What're you up to? - that sort of thing. Then she asked if I wanted to go grab some drinks with her and Vicki, her friend she was picking up from work."

"Okay…" she trailed off when I stopped to take a bite of my melting dessert. "And who's this Vicki chick?"

"Vicki was actually our waitress, Tori. I didn't know she was the same person until I was walking to Tanya's car and she started to follow us. To be honest, I didn't really care who else was going, I just needed to get out of there."

She was quiet for a minute, sipping on her bottle of water, her face unreadable. Finally, Bella looked at me, asking "Where'd you go with _them_?"

I didn't miss the acid thrown on the word them. It was understandable that she'd feel bitter over the involvement Tanya and Vicki played in our time apart.

"First we headed to some little bar, a hole in the wall near the University of Chicago. I think it was called The Pit… Not too sure." I paused, trying to go through my memories of that night to recall the name of the bar. "I was pretty smashed by the time we got there."

"Wait." Bella held her hand up, to stop me. "You were drunk already? How?"

"I don't know how much you were paying attention at the table before I got up, but I'd had a couple of J.D.'s. Then, before I went to the bathroom, I stopped at the bar and had a few shots, too." I looked down at the table, not able to meet her eyes. "I'm not proud of the way I acted. I know I took not only my reactions, but my also my drinking to an extreme that night. The whole few weeks we were apart, if I'm being honest."

"Wow. Wasn't really expecting that. We'll be getting back to that later, you can count on it." I nodded, I wouldn't have it any other way. "Okay, you were drunk already, went to some bar, then what?"

"We went to a club, The Electric Eel. I remember that name. I'd only had two beers at the bar, so I was sobering up a little bit."

"I see," she murmured. "Did you hang out with them any other time than that night?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, for the first four nights. Pretty much just went out to bars and clubs."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, eating our rapidly melting ice cream. Bella seemed to be thinking hard, not that I could blame her. It was a lot to take in and I had barely scratched the surface of our time apart.

"I have to know," she said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Did you… Were you… Aghh! Did you hook up or mess around with anyone during those two weeks?"

"Bella, I-" got cut off by her cell phone blaring Buckcherry's _Crazy Bitch_. She held up her hand and asked me to hold on, saying it was Rose's ring tone.

"Hey… What?… Yeah…. No, it's fine sweetie. I'll be right there… Emmett's home, right?… No? Well where the hell is he?… No, let Abby sleep Rose. I think I know someone who'd stay with them…. Okay, be there in five. Love you."

As soon as she hung up her phone, she was frantically moving to clean up our mess. I grabbed her hands in my own, stilling her movements. "Whoa. Is everything okay?"

"I need you to do me two huge favors, please, Edward," she pleaded with serious eyes.

"Anything. You should know that, I'd do anything for you, Bella" Ours eyes locked together and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Just as I was about to lean over, her phone beeped with a text. The noise seemed to break her from our moment. She shook her head, as if clearing away a fog.

"Rose's water just broke and she can't get a hold of Em, I guess he had some big meeting at the dealership today. I need to take her to the hospital, so can you drive me over there?" I nodded and asked her what the second favor was. "Do you think you could stay at the house with Nick and Abby? She doesn't want to wake Abby up since she's already asleep for the night. And I don't think having them sit around the hospital is a good idea."

"Of course I would. Bella, baby, you shouldn't even feel like you have to ask. I meant it when I said I'd do anything for you."

After throwing our trash out we headed to Rose and Emmett's house. I made sure to plug in my radar detector before we left, because I knew I'd be breaking some speeding laws. Thankfully it worked perfectly and it only took a few minutes to get to there.

I followed Bella inside as she called out for Rose, she answered, telling us she'd be out in a moment. While we waited for her in the front entrance way, I leaned over and gave Bella a hug. We only broke apart when we heard a set of little feet coming down the stairs. I looked up to see a Superman pajama-clad Nicholas come flying down. I opened my arms just in time to catch him as he jumped from the fifth one up.

"Put me down," he scowled. I did as he asked, then he ran over and hugged Bella.

"Hey little man," she greeted, bending down to talk to him.

"Hi, Auntie Bella." He smiled towards her, giving her another hug, then his face got all serious. Nicky glared at me and turned back to Bella. "What's he doing here?"

"Uncle Edward is going to hang out here with you for a little bit. I've got to bring you Mom to the hospital, so she can have the baby. Is that okay?"

"No," he whined. "I want you to stay, make him take Momma."

Rosalie chose then to walk into the room, holding a razor and a hand towel. Her harsh eyes met mine while she addressed her son. "Nicky, Edward has to stay here with you, because if he takes Mommy, he might not come back. Ever."

"So what? Maybe I don't want him to come back," he spat out. I was taken aback by how hostile he was towards me. I had no idea what I'd done to upset him.

Rose grabbed his hand, and led him over to the couch. Sitting down, she pulled him in front of her, so she could look him in the eyes. "Baby, Mommy needs to go to the hospital now and since Daddy isn't here to drive me, Auntie Bella has to, okay?" He nodded, but still didn't look happy about anything. "If you want your other brother or sister to be born, then Auntie and I have to go and you need to stay here with Uncle Edward. Can you do that for me?

"Fine. I'll stay here with him," he pouted. "But do you promise to call me later when the baby gets here?"

After she promised to call him, he seemed placated enough to stay with me. I helped take the hospital bags to Rose's car and hugged Bella goodbye, even getting a quick peck on the lips. She promised to call me later and come back as soon as she could.

Once they were gone, I set out to discover what was wrong with Nicky. I found him playing with his _Leapster _handheld game on the living room couch. Sitting down next to him I asked what he was doing, but he refused to answer. When I leaned closer, trying to see the screen, he paused the game and scooted to the other end of the couch.

"Nicky?" Nothing. "Nick?" Still no response. "Nicholas Liam McCarty, you need to stop your game and speak to me when I am talking to you," I scolded lightly.

Nick paused his game and then turned to face me. "What do you want?"

"For starters, I want to know why you're so angry at me? What'd I do buddy?" He was still scowling in my direction. "And then I want to know how to fix it, because I don't like when you're mad at me."

"Don't call me buddy, I'm not your buddy. I don't like you no more. So leave me alone," he huffed, crossing he arms over his chest.

"But why? C'mon Nick, there has to be a reason. Can you please tell me why?"

"If I do, will you leave me alone until Auntie Bella comes back?" I told him if he talked to me, I'd not only leave him alone, but let him stay up past his bed time. "Fine. I think you are a big meanie and a poophead."

"Why do you think those things?" I prodded. He looked down at his lap then whispered to me. "'Cause you made Aunt Bella cry. And she was sad. I heared my Momma and Daddy talking and she said it was cause you was being a …a…a manwhore. What's that mean?"

"Well, um, you see," I stuttered. How the hell did I explain this stuff to a five year old? I was so screwed. "Nicky, sometimes when grownups get into arguments they say or do things they don't mean. Remember when you were mad at your Mom and said you didn't want to live with her anymore?" He nodded and said yes. "But you didn't mean it, did you? You were just mad?"

"Yeah. But you and Auntie don't live together. So you can't run away."

"I know. But I did something mean and hurt her feelings because I was mad. But I promise, I told her sorry already."

"Did she forgive you like Mommy forgived me?" His eyes were wide and he looked almost hopeful.

"Yeah, she did. But I gotta ask," I paused to look at him directly, "Do you forgive me? Because I don't want you to be mad at me anymore."

"Yeah, I guess so," he answered. I leaned over and pulled him to me for a hug, but he leaned away again. "Uncle Edward?" he waited until I looked at him. "Don't make Aunt Bella cry again. Or I'll kick your butt."

I laughed, and promised him I wouldn't. We talked for a few more minutes and it was nice to chat with him. Over the past few weeks I'd missed both him and his sister tremendously. I was also thankful he didn't appear to be mad at me any longer. So thankful that I decided we need to have some ice cream and chocolate milk.

I left him to play his game on the couch as I got up to go make our special treat. When I was just about to leave the living room, he called out to me.

"Uncle Edward?" I stopped to look at him. "You didn't answer my question. What's a manwhore?"

* * *

God, isn't Nicholas a cutie? He was pretty fun to write.

So... Bella got a few answers, but not all of them. Who's mad her phone interrupted that answer? Don't fret, it will come up again.

Once photobucket finishes it's maintenance updates I will be adding more pictures to my profile for OHP. Lots of new goodies for you all.

I have to thank BusyMommy for beta'ing the shit out of this. I normally have 3 lovely ladies who do this for me, but RL reared it's ugly head for two of them this chapter.

Speaking if BusyMommy, the two of us are hosting a O/S contest together, The Love, Actually contest. What we are looking for—love stories. In particular, non-canon love stories. We believe not every relationship starts and ends in bed, so write us a love story that doesn't turn into a sex-fest. Sometimes, the anticipation can be even better than the fulfillment. Show us your romantic side!

Entries accepted May 15th-June 11th

More details can be found on the contest's FFn page http:/www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net /u/ 2805718

Next update: Not sure, i have about 2k written, but that doesn't mean a lot. I keep readers up to speed about it via Twitter.

~Ash


	9. Chapter 8

Hey guys, won't keep you long up here. Just wanted to say that there is a very important A/N at the bottom. So, please check it out.

I don't own Twilight, but I'm sure you all knew that.

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Chapter 8

**BPOV**

It was close to two in the morning when I finally pulled back up to Em and Rose's house. It had been a long night, one where for the most part, I'd filled in for Emmett. He owed me, big time. Especially since my hand was still throbbing after all the squeezing Rose had done.

By the time Emmett finally graced us with his presence, my cousin was pretty far along and had begun pushing. She hadn't wanted me to leave at that point, so I didn't. It was an amazing experience to see my second niece born. Just after midnight, seven pound-six ounce Savannah Grace made her debut.

Rose was still so angry at Em for turning his phone off during the meeting he'd attended, that she let me hold the baby before him. Just like Nicky and Abby before her, little Savannah stole a piece of my heart as the minute she was in my arms.

Stepping into the house, I could see the glow of the television coming from the living room. Making my way there, I held a hand over my mouth to trap the '_aww_' that almost escaped my lips. Edward had passed out on the couch with Nicky sleeping on his chest. It was such a sweet moment that I couldn't resist whipping out my Blackberry to capture a picture.

Very gently I tried to pick Nicky up, but Edward clung to him tighter. Obviously, he wasn't going to let Nicky go, so I knelt down by Edwards head and tried to wake him.

"Edward," I whispered. "Hey, wake up." Slowly, after a few more murmurs into his ear, he started to rouse.

"Hey. What time is it?" he groggily replied.

"Just after two. Loosen up so I can get him up to bed."

"No, no. I can take him up," Edward yawned, rubbing his eyes. "He wouldn't go upstairs earlier, he was afraid someone would call about the baby as soon as he did."

We both walked upstairs to Nicky's room. I folded back the covers and Edward laid him down. When his little head hit the pillow, my nephew perked up, opening his eyes. In a sleepy haze he gripped Edward tighter and whispered "Uncle Edward, what 'bout the baby?"

Edward sat down on the bed, looking over at me. I leaned over his shoulder, waiting to speak until Nicky saw me. "Auntie Bella, did Mommy have my baby?"

"Yes, she did," I told him. He asked what it was, since no one knew before hand. While in the womb, it was clear the baby took after Rosalie, stubborn to the bone. They tried so many ultrasounds, even paying for 3-d ones, but the doctors could never determine the baby's gender.

"Well?" He and Edward asked at the same time. Nicky throwing in, "is it a brother or sister?"

Leaning down by his face, I ran my hands through his hair before answering. "It looks like you're going to have your hands full buddy… 'Cause now you've got two little sisters to take care of."

"Imma be the bestest big brother ever," he mumbled, already falling back asleep.

Standing, I grabbed Edwards hand and pulled him into the hall with me. He silently closed the door while I peeked in on Abby. Still snoring, she clutched her pink stuffed pony to her little body. When I turned my attention back to Edward, he stood awkwardly in the middle of the hallway with one hand in his pocket and the other scratching his head.

"I'm just going to head out now," he shrugged.

"No," I shook my head, stepping closer. "It's late and you're already tired, I wouldn't be comfortable with you driving now."

"Oh, well okay. Thanks. I'm just gonna crash on the couch." He leaned over giving me a hug and whispering goodnight. While in his arms I realized I didn't want him to let go just yet.

Maybe it was seeing the love between Emmett and Rose or witnessing the product of said love in my newest niece, but I felt emotional and needy. The beautiful bond they shared left me wondering if that was my future…or more specifically, my future with Edward.

Seeing Edward cuddled up and so protective of Nicky made me realize how much I still wanted that with him. There was still apprehension after all that had happened, but being in his arms gave me a little of the reassurance I was looking for. And I couldn't find any fault in wanting to hold on to that feeling, even if it was just for tonight.

"What if you stayed in the guest room?" I asked peeking up through my lashes. "With me."

"Bella, I'd love nothing more," he kissed my forehead, "but are you sure?"

"Yeah. Nothing's going to happen. I just," I paused, trying to find the words to fit all my thoughts. "I want you to hold me tonight. I want to feel like _us_, again. Just for a little while. If that makes any sense."

Without another word he pulled away, leading me by the hand toward the guest bedroom. Once inside he sat me on the bed, kneeling in front of me to take my shoes off. He proceeded to tuck me in then scurried to the other side and climbed under the covers.

Immediately, he pulled me into his arms, letting me cuddle up to his side and use his chest as a pillow. For a while we just laid in the dark, the only noise our breathing.

"Bella," he whispered eventually, I nodded my head. "I'll do whatever I have to, to get _us _back, even if it takes forever."

I didn't say anything in response. I knew he meant what he said, but only time could give us what we both wanted again. After placing a kiss over his heart, I let myself drift off to sleep.

The sounds of giggles slowly seeped their way through my sleepy haze. Rolling away from the noise, I hit a small body. Cracking my eyes open I came face to face with a very awake Abby.

"Auntie Bella," she squealed. "You is awake! Unca Ed-erd! Unca Ed-erd! Auntie Bella's up!"

"So she is," I heard him chuckle from the doorway. I glared at him before rolling flat on my back, only to be plopped on by both Abby and Nick; who had been on my other side. "Did you two crazy monkeys wake her up?"

"No!" they both yelled, before jumping on the bed around me. Edward walked over and sat on the bed, grabbing Abby and sitting her on his lap.

"I don't think I believe you, but…" he trailed off. "I guess we can still go make breakfast together anyway." Both kids cheered with excitement. Throwing Abby over his shoulder, he started walking out the door, saying he'd go start some coffee for me.

Nicholas flopped across my stomach, a little pout on his lips. "What's wrong little man?"

"I miss Mommy and Daddy," he frowned. "And Mommy didn't call me last night, she promised she would."

"Oh, come here." I pulled him up to me, hugging him tight. "I'm sure she just forgot, it's hard work to make sure the baby's born safe."

"Maybe," he whispered. "Will they call me today? Or come home?"

"They might call, but not until bed time," he looked so close to crying that I had to put him out of his misery. "And guess what else?"

"What?" he asked with a trembling lip.

"I'm going to take you to go visit them at lunch time. You'll even get to meet your new little sister." His face immediately lit up with joy. I convinced him we should go down and help with the cooking, he agreed. After making a big breakfast, the four of us sat at the table and ate, talking about the new baby.

The kids went to the living room to play while we cleaned up. It was easy to forget all the things we still had to fix when at that moment it just felt so natural to be.

"Hey, do you mind if I go call the family now? Rose and Em wanted me to do it today," I asked while loading the dishwasher. After telling me he'd go keep an eye on the kids, he left me to make the calls.

Calling Rose's parents, my Aunt Lilly and Uncle Rich, was easy. As was calling our shared grandparents and the ones from her dad's side. However, calling my mother was far from a walk in the park.

She always tended to turn any conversation we had - just like she did this one - to focus on my younger half-sister, Charlotte. Though if I ever said half-sister out loud I'd get my ass chewed out. I made the mistake of mentioning Phil by his name and she went on the same tirade she always did when it happened.

"Isabella, I understand you don't share his blood, but he was there for you from birth. You could show some respect and at least call him your father. He deserves that much. I'm sure _Charles_," she growled out my birth father's name, "would understand. Unless he's poisoned you against your family." I tried cutting her off, but it was no use, it never was. So I placed my cell on the counter and began getting snacks together to bring to the hospital later.

My mother, Renee, had never made peace with her past mistakes, often taking out her self-hatred on those around her or trying to portray the image of a perfect family. For the first three years of my life she had done just that, until an old college friend came for a visit and noticed I looked a lot more like an old college buddy of theirs rather than the man I'd been calling Daddy. The repercussions of a drunken one night hook-up between friends a few months before gradation had finally caught up to her.

The whistle had effectively been blown on her little secret. I later learned Phil knew as well and went along with raising me as his own because they didn't think anyone would find out. While I loved them both, they were responsible for the strains on our relationships. When I was old enough to understand the situation, Phil and I made peace with the past and rebuilt a close bond. Things between us were fine, as long as he knew he would always be my 'Pop', but never again would he be my Dad.

Renee on the other hand… she'd have preferred that I never met my father, Charles Swan. It killed her that from the first time I saw him, I was his little girl. I think she resented the fact that because of my bond with him she had to move Forks or risk losing me.

"Mom," I tried interrupting again after a few minutes. Thankfully she shut up this time. "I love you and Pop… But you can't always do this. I'm tired of hearing you bash on my Dad."

"Honey, all I'm saying-" I had to cut her off before I was forced into another five minute lecture. I'd heard this one plenty of times, too. I didn't want to hear about how it was all Charlie's fault.

"Mom! I just wanted you and Pop to know that Rose had the baby, make sure you tell Charlotte. The kids are getting antsy, so I gotta go. Bye." I hung up and let out a huff. The strain on our relationship would never get better if she couldn't cut the bullshit.

Staring at the phone in my hand I realized I was shaking. She infuriated me so much and nothing ever seemed to help our situation. I was so lost in my anger that I didn't hear Edward come into the room. It wasn't until he pulled me to him and hugged me tight, whispering a '_shh_' that I finally started to relax some.

"Why," I whimpered into his chest, "why does she do that to me?"

"Babe," he pulled me tighter, gently swaying u, "you know how she is. Hell, from what you've said it's only gotten worse the older you got."

"I know. But my Dad never does this kind of stuff. He never makes me feel down for calling Phil 'Pop'. He doesn't throw Leah and Seth's accomplishments in my face or act like I'm a burden on his otherwise perfect family." I knew I should have been used to it, but I could only take so much from my mother before I needed to let it all out.

"I know. But at least it gives you some insight on what not to do when you become a mom, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed, then asked where the kids were. Edward replied that he set them up with paper and crayons in the living room to make cards for their mom and new little sister. I hugged him a little tighter after that, thinking that he knew what to do with kids, too.

Letting go of him, I looked up and asked "Can you maybe stay a little longer and keep an eye on the kids so I can shower? Alice is stuck at the shop since I'm here and I don't want to leave them unattended for that long."

"Bell, you do realize that I'm not going anywhere, right?" he didn't give me a chance to answer before he continued, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here to help you with the kids until Em and Rose come home. That is, if you want the help…" His face was so cute as he trailed off, unsure if I'd let him stay.

I honestly never thought that with all the things going on between us, he'd even want to help. But if he was offering, I was going to take him up on it. I knew from prior experience how crazy Nick and Abby could get.

"Sure, I could use the help. Maybe it'll give us some more time to talk about things." He gave me a smile and nodded. "But do you think maybe you could run to my house and get me some clothes? Rose's pre-pregnancy stuff will fit but I'd rather have my own."

"No," he laughed out. I raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction. "What did I tell you last week? I've got some of our essentials in my truck. Remember the bag I showed you? It's still in there."

After we each took a shower and got the kids ready, we loaded into Edward's truck and set off for the hospital. Nick and Abby were practically bouncing in their seats excited to meet their new sister.

The first meeting of the McCarty children was rather amusing. Neither paid their parents any mind. Nicky was desperate to hold his sister, so much so that he didn't even bother saying hi to his parents. He climbed up next to Rose and said it was his turn to see her. Abby, on the other hand struggled with no longer being the center of attention. She wouldn't go to Em or Rose and wanted nothing to do with Savannah. She clung to me until I wanted to see the baby, then refused to leave Edward's lap.

We spent the entire afternoon visiting and then decided to take the kids out for dinner. We stopped to have some pizza, followed up with a trip to the playground to let the kids burn off some energy. After running around for two hours at the park, it was easy to wrangle the kids up. Once we got them home they went to sleep without a fight after taking baths.

Edward and I plopped down on the living room couch. He flicked on the television and asked what I wanted to watch. I chose _Cupcake Wars_ and nothing but the TV broke our relaxing silence for a long while. Near the middle of the second episode Edward's phone rang. He looked at the screen then quickly sent it to voicemail before focusing on the show again. After watching him repeat it five times, I got fed up.

"Either answer the damn call or turn your phone off," I snapped.

"Excuse me?" Edward looked at me like I was crazy. "Did you really just start demanding things of me?"

"Yeah," I said like he was dumb. "We're trying to watch TV and your phone keeps going off. Do something about it."

Just as I finished speaking the phone started ringing again. He looked at me rather defiantly and once more hit ignore. I huffed out a breath and glared at him. Edward just rolled his eyes and looked at the screen TV.

Within a minute it went off again. This time though, I grabbed his phone before he could reach it. Looking down to shut the noise off I saw that the display was a picture of some chick kissing Edward's cheek with the name _Tanya _underneath it.

"Why the fuck does this bitch keep calling you?" I screeched, pointing at the blackberry's screen.

"Bella, I keep hitting ignore. I can't control the fact that she keeps calling," he stated.

"Really? How about answering it and telling her to stop calling." I didn't think that was too much to ask. Unless… "Wait! Do you want to talk to her? Because go right ahead, but make sure you lock the door on your way out!"

I knew I was being a little dramatic, but I couldn't help it. Seeing her name across the screen and her lips on his face reminded me that he'd never answered my last question I asked the day before.

"Are you serious? I'm here, Bella. I'm here with you. If I wanted to talk to Tanya or any other girl, I would be talking to them. But I'm not." He threw his hands in the air out of frustration and then stood up.

"Yes. I'm being completely serious, Edward." I said tossing his phone down. Pausing, I took a moment to collect my thoughts. "You need to be honest with me. Tell me right now what happened when you were off doing you own thing. I wanna know. I need to know. were you off fucking around?"

"Okay," he sighed. "You deserve to know that. I wasn't going to hide anything from you, I already told you I'd be honest."

"And?" I questioned, not sure I'd like the answer..

His eyes met mine and he gave me a solemn nod.

* * *

**A/N:**

Yeah, totally left it there. It was the best place, because I didn't feel going into that long conversation was going to work for this chapter- would have made it way longer and drawn out than I would prefer.

Okay, now I've got a couple things to talk to you all about.

**1.) **I donated the first chapter of a short-maybe 8 chapter-fic to the **Fandom Fights Mental Illness** compilation. It's entitled _Lips of an Angel_. You can get more information on this cause at http:/ findingyourvoice-ffmi (dot) blogspot (dot)com

**2.)** I've also signed up to contribute a piece to the **Fandom for Sexual Assault Awareness**compilation. I have not written anything for this yet... But I am thinking it will be an OHP outtake. Any suggestions about what you, the readers, would like to see are very welcomed. This cause is also very noble and I encourage you, if it is in your means to donate. A massive amount of authors have signed up to submit a piece. Information can be found at http:/ fandom4saa (dot) wordpress (dot) com

**3.)** One of my beta's, BusyMommy, and I are hosting a o/s contest, **The Love, Actually Contest**.

What we are looking for—love stories. In particular, non-canon love stories. We believe not every relationship starts and ends in bed, so write us a love story that doesn't turn into a sex-fest. Sometimes, the anticipation can be even better than the fulfillment. Show us your romantic side!

Information can be found here: http:/www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net /u/ 2805718/

Finally, just want to say thanks to BusyMommy, Donut_Magnet and MuffysWorld for beta'ing this for me. Let me tell you all, they did a fab job this chapter, it was all sorts of ugly before they fixed it.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

~Ash


	10. Chapter 9

Here's chapter 9. See you guys at the bottom.

** owns all things Twilight. I created the cute kids and this weird ass plot.**

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**Chapter 9**

**EPOV**

Looking into Bella's eyes I knew I was fucked. I should've just turned my phone off like she asked. Instead, because I was tired, I had to go and be an asshole and argue with her.

Truthfully I didn't have the energy to deal with Tanya or her insistent calls right then. But the way Bella snapped at me struck a chord and I couldn't keep my attitude in check. Even worse, it ended up leading to a conversation that should've been happening under different circumstances.

"You need to be honest with me." she said. "Tell me right now what happened when you were off doing you own thing. I wanna know. I need to know. Were you off fucking around?"

"Okay. You deserve to know that. I wasn't going to hide anything from you, I already told you I'd be honest."

"And?" her question hung in the air. I struggled to find the words to answer her. I knew that my reply could signal the end of us and it was seized my ability to speak.

It took me a few moments, but I looked her in the eyes and nodded my head yes, just once.

"Get out," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. I reached out to her, but she stepped away, shaking her head. "No. Just go."

"Bella…C'mon, please talk to me. Let me explain," I pleaded, holding my hands in front of me in surrender.

"I don't think there's anything for you to explain, Edward," she sighed, shaking her head, not meeting my eyes. "You fucked someone else, that's all I really needed to hear. Just leave."

"What? You can't be serious."

"Edward," she started but I interrupted her.

"No. You." I threw a pointed finger in her direction, "said you wanted to know, well then let me tell you. Stop cutting me off and let. Me. Speak!" I jabbed the same finger into my own chest, punctuating each word.

"Fine," she glared at me and threw herself back onto the couch, "tell me _all_ about your time with the skanks. Then leave."

"Let me start with telling you… No matter what I did, it shouldn't matter. In my head, when I walked away…" I huffed, becoming more flabbergasted by the second. It felt like my brain had hit fast forward and I couldn't slow it down enough to get my words out coherently. "Once I made the choice to leave I considered myself single. There wasn't a 'we', I was on my own with no one to answer to."

When she said nothing, I chanced a look in her direction only to find her looking everywhere except at me. My anxiety, growing by the second, caused me to start pacing around the room.

"Bella, I went out every night during those two weeks, getting wasted in hopes that the booze would drown out thoughts of you." I stopped in front of her, not speaking or moving until she looked up at me. "Nothing made them go away. Nothing."

"Whatever," she mumbled under her breath, looking away, "Just get on with it."

"Okay," I swallowed hard, before resuming my path on the carpet. "I told you before, I only hung out with them the first few days. Four to be exact." I couldn't believe how hard telling her turned out to be. I never thought it'd be easy, but it broke my heart to know that I'd be crushing hers, again. "I made out with both of them at the club, like at the same time. We were dancing. They started kissing, pulling me into it with them. It felt wrong, but at the time I didn't really care."

"I was cocked out of my mind that first night when we left the club, I didn't even object when the girls said they were gonna take me back to Tanya's place." I stopped walking, sitting down in the chair across from Bella, before I continued. "I ended up sleeping in the same bed with Tanya and… She, ah, she gave me a blow job."

I couldn't look up from the floor. I knew if I did, the image of Bella being more crushed by my words would be burned forever into my brain.

"Is that it?" she whispered in the smallest, saddest voice I'd ever heard.

"No," I sighed, clenching my eyes shut. "I got a few more from both of them over those few days. There was a lot of kissing and over the clothes groping. I may have even copped a few boob grabs when I was drunk."

"I see."

Her simple two word sentence hits me hard. The emotion had fled from her voice, she simply sound resigned. The sniffle that followed, broke my resolve to continue to staring at the floor.

"Bella," I paused, looking into her eyes, "I know I fucked up, a lot. I did a whole bunch of shit I regret, but I never did more than what I just admitted to."

**BPOV**

I didn't know what to make of Edward's confession. Part of me felt relief that he didn't sleep with them, but hearing what did happen still made me angry. More than anything, it hurt. My chest ached when I realized that on the night he had planned to propose, not only did he leave me, but also fell into bed with another woman.

Feeling the tears rolling down my cheeks, I knew I needed him to leave. If he stayed here I would break down and it just wasn't an option while I had to care for Nick and Abby.

"I think you need to go," I stood, walking to the front door. I'd barely opened it an inch when Edward stepped up behind me, reaching over my shoulder to push it closed.

"Bella, no," he protested, when I turned to face him. "I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me."

When I didn't say anything, he moved his arms to cage me between him and the door, leaning down until we were eye level. "I can't read your mind. You have to tell me what you're thinking."

"I already told you what I think-that you need to leave." When he opened his mouth to protest, I cut him off. "I need time, Edward. You just laid a lot on me and I don't know what to make of it. Just give me time to think and ponder and debate and just get my head and heart in the same place."

"In other words you're kicking me out?" he asked, stepping away, nodding, his eyes wide and filled with tears. Turning, he grabbed his jacket and angrily pulling it on. When he faced me once more, the tears are gone.

"Okay. I'll wait for you, give you time, since that's what you want," he seethed, pulling the door open. "But Bella, I wouldn't take as long as you did to tell me about Jake."

And with a slam of the door, he was gone.

It took me a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened. He left, like I'd asked, telling me he'd give me time. But he also made sure I knew he was angry over what happened with Jacob.

To be honest, I didn't think the secret bothered him all that much. He'd only mentioned it once since the previous weekend, and only in retaliation to the cold shoulder I was gave him. His parting comment tonight, however, proved me wrong.

He had every right to be pissed at me. For the three years we'd been together I'd kept a secret from him. I wasn't stupid, I knew he'd been suspicious of the close relationship I shared with Jake. I always thought he'd been secure with what we had together, though.

There were plenty of times when I wanted to divulge the truth, but it wasn't my story to tell. On more than one occasion I'd pleaded with Jake, stating it wasn't fair to keep Edward in the dark. They were both a huge part of my life, parts I didn't see going anywhere. I felt he needed to let Edward know the truth, but Jake had been adamant about keeping it hidden.

In the past my boyfriends never reacted favorably. Emmett, once he found out and a guy named Eric being the exceptions_. Eric also broke up with me two days later and then asked Jacob out, but that was beside the point_. Even back home in Forks and on the rez in La Push, Jake's preference's were kept a secret. His father was ashamed of it, the small communities frowning homosexuality.

I had no choice but to respect Jake's wishes, but often counseled him to get over his fear and just be himself. It put a strain on me, being stuck between telling Edward and being true to my best friend.

Thinking it over, I slowly accepted that, though Edward did some horrible things I shared some of the blame, too. My indulgence of Jake's request for three years had set this all in motion.

Sitting back down on the couch, I turned the TV on again, but didn't really watch it. Instead I tried to sort through everything, wondering whether or not I could get over all the hurt, if a chance existed to make things work. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was being shaken awake.

"Aunt Bella," Nicky pushed on my shoulder, again. "Aunt Bella, wake up."

"Hey, little man," I opened my eyes to look at him. "What are you doing up?"

"The clock says eight, zero, zero," he told me like I should know. Realizing I wasn't sure what that meant, he clarified, "Mommy says we can get up from bed at eight, zero, zero."

"Oh, okay. Is Abby up?"

"No, she likes to sleep, a lot," he said absently, looking all around. He turned back to me with a serious face, "Where's Uncle Edward?"

"He, um, he went home."

"Why? He said he'd make me waffles today and play superman with me." Nicky sniffled and his bottom lip started to quiver. "He didn't even say bye to me?"

The tears building in his eyes added to my guilt. When I kicked Edward out last night, I didn't stop to consider the kids' reactions when they woke up and found him gone. I should have known Nicky would feel slighted by it, especially after Edward had told me about Nicky's standoffish behavior and their subsequent discussion. I had to think of something, fast.

"He wanted to say bye buddy, but you were sleeping and he needed to go to work," I fibbed, pulling him to me for a hug. "This big hug is from him, he told me to make sure I gave it to you, okay? He also said I had to make you chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast instead, sound good?"

"No! Not good! He promised!" he screamed, pulling away from me. He wiped at his tear streaked cheeks, before turning and running up the stairs and yelling, "I hate him!"

Before Nicky's little legs could carry him up the stairs, I heard a knock on the door. Opening it revealed a very disheveled Edward. His clothes were wrinkled, hair stuck up in the craziest bed-head do, hands shoved deep in his pockets, while he stared at the ground.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a harsh whisper, aware that the angry ascending footsteps had stopped. His eyes flicked to mine, with his brows drawn together.

"I take it you didn't get mine or Emmett's texts? I'm here to pick up Nicky-Abby too, if you want me to take them both."

"Huh?"

"I'm taking at least Nicky until this afternoon. I told him I would and I don't intend to break another promise to him. Especially not because we can't figure our shit out," he stated, nodding his head.

His words took me by surprise. It was endearing to see that the promise he made to my nephew, _our_ nephew as far as anyone was concerned, took precedence over the drama of our relationship. Slowly, I opened the door, stepping back to let him inside.

"Uncle Edward?" Nicky asked, a mixture of his former anger and surprise clear in his voice. "You're here?"

"Yeah, buddy, I'm here," Edward said, then dramatically raised his eyes in shock. "Are you? Yes, it looks like you _are_ still in your pajamas! Silly boy, you need to go change so we can go have some fun."

"We're gonna go play? I thought you had to work?" little man asked, complete with a thoughtful head tilt.

Edward's eyes shifted over to me, then back to the little boy still hanging on to the stair railing. "Oh, I'm, uh, I'm all finished. I did it really fast so we could hang out. So go get dressed and make sure you wear your sneakers."

Nicky didn't need to be asked twice, he flew up the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him. Still stunned by the morning's events I mumbled something about Nicky needing help with his clothes, so I could get away from Edward.

I found my nephew head first in his dresser drawer, throwing articles of clothing over his shoulder. I asked what he was doing; he told me looking for clothes to match his favorite uncle. To say that this kid's emotional flip flopping gave me whiplash would have been an understatement. After searching through what felt like every piece of clothing he owned, I left Nicky upstairs to wash up and change.

Slowly I made my way back downstairs, knowing I had to face Edward, even if I didn't want to. The closer I got to the living room, the louder I could hear his voice.

"Listen to me. I've told you, multiple times in fact, I want nothing to do with you. What don't you understand?… No, there is no us, no we, no anything! Stop calling me!" He huffed at whoever was on the phone. Growing more curious, I stopped in the doorway. "Tanya, for the last. Fucking. Time! Do not call me, do not text me, don't come to my house or stop at Jasper's if you see my car there or show up to Sawyer's gigs. Don't even think about me. And for the love of God!" The tone of his voice raised the longer his tirade lasted. "Change your fucking face book picture! I don't want or need people seeing you kissing me!"

Edward stood there, chest heaving, rough breaths escaping him, while he pinched the bridge of his nose. Staring at his phone screen for a moment, he slid it into his pocket then turned, a look of surprise gracing his face when he spotted me.

"Bell, I swear I was just telling her off." he explained, holding his hands out to me.

"I know, I heard," I nodded my head. "But, now isn't the time to get into this. Nicky will be down in a minute and you promised him a day of fun."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "So, uh, did you want me to take Abby too? Or just have a boy's day with little man?"

"Take Nicky, I think he needs some one on one time. Plus she's still asleep"

"Damn," he laughed. "That kid can sleep the day away. Kind of like someone else I know," he teased, causing us both to chuckle. When I looked up, I noticed the smirk on his lips and that we'd both moved closer to each other.

My eyes locked on his and in that moment I really wanted to kiss him, but Nicky yelling for help with his shoes when he barreled down into the room slammed reality back into focus. He ran straight to us, holding his sneakers, and Edward scooped him up, sitting him on the couch. I excused myself, heading to the kitchen to pack a small bag of snacks, little toys and sun block for them to take.

I'd just as I finished zipping up the miniature backpack when Edward walked in, carrying Nicky with one arm.

"Alright, buddy," he said "Give Aunt Bella a kiss and hug goodbye, then we can go."

Nicky leaned over and squeezed me tight before laying a smooch on my lips.

"Be good, both of you," I jokingly told them with a mock stern wiggle of my index finger.

"We will, Auntie Bella," Nicky exclaimed, while Edward said "No way, we're gonna cause trouble."

When they turned to go, Nicky asked why his uncle didn't say goodbye to me or give me a hug and kiss. I was just as about to spout off something about boys, girls and cooties when Edward stopped and pulled me to him with his free arm.

"You're right, little guy," he stated softly. "You should _never_ leave without saying goodbye." I knew his words were for me even though he addressed them to Nicky.

After kissing me on the cheek, I watched him grab the backpack and walk out of the house. But this time when he walked away, I felt hopeful.

* * *

**A/N:**

So... How was that? Sorry it took so long. I know a bunch, if not almost all of you had been sent a PM with a teaser a few weeks back. But real life has a way of getting involved and myself and one of my beta's got tangled in its sticky web. But hey, I posted as soon as I could. In fact, I only used one of my three beta's for this bad boy, so blame me for the mistakes you find.

BusyMommy, Donut_Magnet and Muffysword usually edit my ramblings. Without them... Well you wouldnt want to read this fic.

I'm one of the donating authors for the Fandom for Sexual Assault Awarness- I know the donation window has been extended until June 29th. So if you can spare something, I urge you to donate to that worthy cause. I dontated a piece that covers Charlie and Renee's infamous one night and Charlie meeting a three year old Bella for the first time. http:/ fandom4saa (dot) wordpress (dot) com

Also, if anyone digs non-canon pairings myself and BusyMommy are hosting the Love, Actually Contest. Voting is open and there are seven awesome entries that deserve some love. So go read, review and vote for your favorite. www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net / u / 2805718

Lastly, my Durling, JennDur made me banner for OHP. It's awesomesauce, like the real homemade kind, not the canned junk. Check it out, link is on my profile.

See ya next time,

Ash


	11. Chapter 10

Hey, long time, eh? I won't ever just give up on this story, just so you know. There may be times it takes longer for a post than you or I would like, but... That's how life is.

I don't own Twilight, well other than copies of the book and movie that have all copyrights in Mrs. Meyers' name.

* * *

The weeks that followed what I was calling the 'second blowup' were intense. I wanted nothing more than to talk to Bella, to try and clear everything up between us, but she was hesitant. I understood why she felt that way; it didn't, however, make me wish there was some type of magic cure all. There were days where it seemed for every figurative steps forward we made, we'd also lose one.

When I brought Nicky back to Bella, after spending the day with him, she walked me to the door and laid out some things for me. She had said that she knew she still wanted to try to make things work, but thought we needed to move slow. Starting with a few phone calls a week and gradually building up to more.

I had agreed readily. I knew then, just as I did now, there wasn't much I wouldn't be willing to do to get her back.

One of our conversations had been really easy going, then out of nowhere Bella asked about the picture on my phone when Tanya called.

"Edward, there's something I want to ask you about. It's been bugging me."

"Okay," I answered, "Whatever you need to know, I'll tell you."

"I believe nothing's going on now with either of _them_, but why would you have that picture on your phone? Why would you save it?"

"I don't have it saved-"

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled, cutting me off. "I saw it on there! Her name, her stupid, ugly face kissing you! If you can't be honest, maybe we should just forget this all." She ended with a sigh.

"Bell, I am being honest. I didn't save anything. She has the picture saved as her default picture on Facebook. Anytime I sync my phone to Facebook it updates whatever picture she has, as my caller I.D. picture. Even if she isn't my friend on the site."

"I never knew you could do something like that," she mused.

"Yeah, I guess you can."

We had even gone on to discuss why I hadn't deleted either Tanya or Vicki's numbers from my phonebook-I'd only kept them so I'd be able to tell it was them calling. Also, to subsequently ignore their attempts to contact me. Bella had suggested I call the phone company and have their number's blocked, which I'd done as soon as I'd hung up.

After waiting on edge everyday for some kind of sign that Bella was ready for more than just a few weekly phone calls and not seeing anything, I was at my wits end. I was out of my element, the only other time I'd been this nervous about asking a girl out was when I was thirteen. I knew I was going to need some help, an inside source to point me in the right direction. So I called Emmett and asked to meet him for lunch.

He showed up thirty minutes late carrying Nicky on his shoulders. After greeting each other and placing our order, we set the little guy up with some paper and crayons so we could talk.

"So what's going on?" Emmett asked, taking a sip of his coke.

"I don't know, man," I sighed and leaned back in my seat. "Everything with Bell is still screwed up."

"Well you did make some huge mistakes. Like epically, colossally, huge mistakes."

"I know! Damn it, Emmett, _I know_!"

"At least you admit it. I suppose that's step one," he mused, sticking one finger up in the air.

"Be serious for a few, please," I begged. "I feel stuck. Like she holds all the cards and I'm just waiting for her to throw me one."

"So you want to play go fish with Auntie Bella?" Nicky asked, looking up from his drawing. "She's not good at that game, I always beat her. How'd she get all the cards from you, Uncle Edward?" Both Em and I cracked up. It was entirely too funny to hear how simplistic a five year old viewed the world. I reached over and ruffled his hair, which earned me a scowl.

"You really are an excellent go fish player, buddy, but me and Auntie Bella are playing a different kind of game."

"What kind of game? 'Cause momma told Auntie B that you needed to stop playing games and man up," Nicky said looking back down at his drawing.

"What?" Both Emmett and I asked, looking at the little boy coloring.

"When did she say that, little man?" Em asked as the waitress brought our food.

"The other day," Nicky answered. "Can I have ketchup for my fries?"

I grabbed the ketchup bottle and started to unscrew the cap, but didn't move to put any on his plate. "Nicky, I'll give you all the ketchup you want, if you tell me what else Auntie Bella and your mom have been saying about me."

"Okay," he murmured, his eyes glued to the red condiment. I shook the bottle side to side and watched as his head moved along with it.

"Do mommy and Auntie B talk about Edward a lot?" Em asked.

"All the time." I put a tiny spot of Heinz on his plate and watched as he used it up with two fries. "I need more," he pouted.

"Does Auntie B ever talk about other guys?"

"Yeap," he held up a chicken finger, "Now where's my ketchup?"

Adding a little more to his plate, I looked over to Emmett with a scowl. He shrugged and asked if Nicky remembered any names. "Uh-huh," he nodded, "She talks about Uncle Edward and Uncle Jakey and daddy and Seth and Pop-pop Charlie and Phil and some guy named Jack."

"Jack?" I questioned. I didn't know she knew anyone named Jack.

"Yeah, Jack Ass." Nicky grabbed for another fry, adding, "He's got a silly, bad word name, huh?"

"Oh my God!" Emmett exclaimed. "This is great, I can totally use this against Rose when she starts saying he learns bad words from me."

By the time I was done asking questions Nicky had almost the entire bottle emptied on his plate. The kid was dunking his fries and chicken fingers in the sauce, then licking it off before dunking again. Through my condiment bribery I gathered a little bit of information, too.

Bella and Rose had spent a good deal of time discussing me. And though Bella was the one who had all the control in our situation, she was unsure how to move things forward. She wasn't a meek or submissive person by any means, but in terms of our relationship I had always been the one to throw themselves out there. I had asked her out, I initiated the first kiss, said the first I love you. After talking it through, Emmett and I agreed that I needed to be the one to suggest going on a date.

"Maybe you could just be casual about it," Emmett suggested. "Like next time you talk to her mention you've been craving something you know she loves. Oh, like that Asian place, you know, the one with the killer pad thai!"

"Ming Wu Dynasty? Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I remember one weekend, when I lived a few blocks from there, Bell and I ordered from there five times. She can never say no food from Ming's."

We finished up our lunch with me buying Nicky a huge hot fudge brownie sundae for all the information he gave me. I also made plans to meet up with Emmett at the paintball field the fowling weekend. He hadn't played in a while and I knew I had been slacking on practicing.

When I got home I spent some time on my back deck cleaning my gear and tuning up my guns. I got lost in the familiar, but recently neglected, motions. I was in the middle of adjusting my trigger placement when my phone rang. I answered, immediately putting it on speakerphone so I could continue tinkering.

"E-Money!" Jasper yelled. "What are you doing, man?"

"Just hanging at home, fucking around with my gear. You?" I asked. I could hear a lot of commotion in the background.

"Down at Tilt, Sawyer picked up a last minute gig tonight. You gotta come down here, bro."

I was about to tell him I'd be there in an hour when the chime indicating another call sounded. "Someone's beeping in, let me call you back in a few," I told him.

"Hello?" I answered, anxious, because it was Bella. We started talking, just bullshitting about our days and I forgot I was supposed to call my cousin back.

"You know what I got a serious craving for today?" I asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Some sizzling noodles and pad thai from Ming's."

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "I haven't had Ming's in ages."

"No?" I paused, "We should grab some for lunch tomorrow, what do you say?" When she didn't answer right away, I back tracked. "I mean, I get it if you don't want to."

"No, no," she said. "It's just I'm running the store by myself tomorrow, Alice has some things to do and we don't want to leave Maggie alone. It's not that I don't want to, Edward. I just can't do it tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, maybe I could pick it up and bring it to the shop?"

Bella was about to answer when my phone beeped again, looking down I saw it was Jasper. I put Bella on hold and clicked over.

"What the fuck, dude! You said you'd call me back in a few minutes, it's been like forty-five! You better be on your way."

"Shit," I muttered. "I'm still at home, I was-"

"Unless you're getting your tip wet, you better haul ass down here. This is a big deal for Sawyer, there's some big wig music guys here and he goes on in an hour." Jazz let out a harsh breath, then took on a serious tone. "E, he's freaking out. I really think he needs the support, so hurry up."

I told Jasper I just had to change my shirt then I'd be running out the door. Clicking back over to Bella, I explained what was going on.

"That's so awesome. Where's he playing?" she asked.

"Tilt, why?"

"Ali and I were thinking of going out for a drink tonight. Maybe we could stop by to catch Sawyer's set? I mean, if that's okay with you?"

"Okay?" I asked in disbelief. "Bella it is more than okay! Besides," I tried to tame down my excitement over possibly seeing her tonight, "You _are_ his good luck charm."

I was on cloud nine by the time I got into my truck. Not only was I going to get to see Bella tonight, with a good chance of having lunch with her tomorrow, but she initiated coming tonight. She put herself out there, in essence showing me she wanted to start moving forward.

I suspected the grin on my face was probably of the goofy variety when the bouncer gave me a funny look. It was only confirmed more when I sat down at a table with Sawyer, Jasper and an older blonde woman, that could easily be labeled as a cougar. Jasper asked why it looked like I had gotten road head on the way over. I just laughed and told him that Bella was going to be coming to the show. This made my younger cousin perk up.

"Bella's coming?" Sawyer asked with huge eyes. I told him she was and he let our a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God." I narrowed my eyes at him and he held up a hand. "Relax, Edward. You know she's like one of those treasure trolls to me."

"Did you just compare me to a troll?" the sweetest voice in the world asked from behind me. I turned to see Bella standing with a hand on her hip and an eyebrow arched.

"What? No! I just, I," Sawyer stuttered. "I mean 'cause they're supposed to be good luck. And aren't you my good luck charm?"

"I was. But I might have to rethink that now, you did just call me a troll!" Bella huffed, a small smile on her face giving away the fact she was joking.

"I could totally be your new good luck charm," Alice stated, looking towards Sawyer.

"And who might you be?" He asked holding his hand out to her. She placed hers in his and told him her name. "Well, Alice Brandon, you certainly can be a good luck charm for me," He murmured and kissed the back of her hand.

While all of this was going on, Jasper was busy sucking face with the woman at the table. Sawyer stood, looking at me and nodding towards the bar. I smacked Jasper in the head, to get him to detach himself. He gave me a _what the hell _look.

"Your brother is going on in a few, time for our traditional pre-show shots." I asked Bella and Alice if I could get them drinks while I was at the bar. Bella asked for a Vanilla Stoli and coke, Alice opted for a glass of merlot. Jasper told his date, who I learned was named Laura, that he'd be back in a few, not even asking if she wanted a drink.

When we got to the bar, Sawyer already had our three shots and three beer chasers waiting. We each grabbed a glass, clinked them together and downed the clear liquid. Jasper and I wished him luck and he left to go backstage.

After placing a drink order, which included a new Jameson and cranberry juice for Laura, I tipped a waitress to bring it all to our table. Walking back, I took a moment to take in Bella. She looked really pretty tonight, she wasn't done up with crazy amounts of makeup or skin showing, like a good portion of the women here. Seeing her laughing with Ali made me smile.

"Hey you," I grinned in her direction, taking up a seat next to her.

"Hey yourself," she laughed back, a bashful smile on her face.

"You look nice tonight. I'm glad you decided to come."

"Well," she started, "I couldn't chance not coming to such a big show for Sawyer. I mean if I didn't bring my luck, he could've lost his shot at a big break."

"That's the only reason you came? To be my cousin's rabbit foot?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Well, I suppose seeing you is good bonus." The smirk gracing her lips gave away any attempt at seriousness. It was then that I also realized we were flirting with each other.

"I can handle that," I paused, adding, "For now." Then I winked at her.

We continued talking, bringing Alice into our conversation and sipping on the drinks that were brought to the table. They told me about some recent encounters with one of their regulars, a crazy old lady that came in everyday named Mrs. Meyers. She was unique and liked to make passes at me or try to pinch my ass whenever she'd see me.

When the band on stage ended their set and started to break their equipment down, the girls decided to head to the restroom. Stating they didn't want to miss a minute of Sawyer being on stage. Alice and Bella were even nice enough to ask Laura to go with them, which she agreed to.

"I'm going to stop and get another drink on my way back, you want anything?" Bella asked as she stood up.

"Another beer. Can you make sure they add the orange slice to it this time, please?" I looked up at her.

"Okay. Be back in a few," she said, then pecked me on the cheek.

To say I was shocked was an understatement, but I was also ecstatic. It seemed this outing was going pretty good. It was progress, a step in the right direction.

"Yo, E," Jazz snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Huh? What?"

"Who's that chick here with Bella?" I looked at him incredulously, he held his hands out. "What?"

"Are you fucking kidding me, dude?"

"No," he shook his head. "She's fucking hot."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breathe. "Jazz, you're here with that Laura chick."

"I am aware of who I am here with, Edward."

"Yeah? Then why are you asking me about another girl?" I shrieked.

"Because it's time for a new…_flavor_, if you will. Laura's fun, but it's about time to taste something new." He was so flippant about it. I really couldn't believe what he was saying. I knew he was a _love 'em and leave 'em _kind of guy, but comparing women to flavors like you would ice cream was a bit much.

"You're a fucking dick, you know that?"

"I am also aware of what is in my pants, cuz. But moving on-just as I am about to do with luscious Laura-who's the shorty?"

"Seriously?" I asked, torn between rolling my eyes and hitting him in the head. "That's Alice, Bella's roommate."

"Alice… Alice… Nope, not ringing any bells," he shook his head.

"You've met her before!"

"I have?"

"Yeah, when I first started dating Bella," I stated, but he still looked lost. "You made fun of her because she had this short spiky hair cut, saying she looked like a twelve year old boy. Telling her to flash you her _'itty bitty titties' _to prove she was a real women."

"Hrmm, I don't remember any of this," he trailed off in thought.

"Of course not," I sighed. "Jazz, I am telling you, leave Alice alone. You are not going to try messing around with her and ruin shit for me and Bella. I've fucked myself over enough, I don't need you adding to it. Capiche?" He nodded with a pout, like a small child.

Not long after our conversation ended, the girls came back to the table. Bella was carrying the beer she had promised in her hand, complete with two orange slices. As she sat down, I said thank you and put my arm across the back of her chair, gently rubbing her shoulder.

Sawyer's set was amazing and before he could walk over to us when he was done, two men approached him. They spoke for awhile, parting after shaking hands. My cousin was all smiles when he made it to our group. He announced that the guys he had spoken to were from Spartan Records and they wanted to meet with him next week to discuss cutting a demo.

We all celebrated his accomplishments with a few more rounds of drinks while listening to some of the other acts. When last call came about we were all a bit tipsy. Once I knew Jasper and Laura were okay to walk the few blocks to her apartment and that Sawyer had a ride home with a friend from another band, I walked with Ali and Bella to wait for a cab.

We stood on the sidewalk, Bella wrapped into my side, chatting about nothing important. When a taxi finally stopped in front of us, I held the door open as Alice slid in first.

I pulled Bella in for a tight hug, whispering into her ear, "I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming."

"Me, too. It was really nice," she said, looking up at me through her lashes. I loosened my grip on her a bit, bending down to give her cheek a kiss. At the last second though, she turned her head and pushed her lips into mine.

It was a short, but sweet kiss. Despite the simplicity of the act, it was enormous to me. So much more than anything we'd done in two months. We broke apart, both smiling as she got into the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yeah, tomorrow. Make sure you get my pad thai," she laughed. "Good night, Edward."

"Night," I spoke softly, tapping on the roof, signaling for the driver to leave.

* * *

Does the bit of happiness help ease the pain of my long absence? You probably don't care why it took so long, but I'm just going to tell you all anyway. Writer's block, stress at home and work and just an overall feeling of discontent with myself all were factors. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I have started it. This fic is my baby, not a day goes by that I don't think about it-sometimes thinking doesn't equate to substantial and worthy words.

Also this chapter was beta'd by my Durling, JennDur-who I RAWR times a million-zillion-bajillion (Google what RAWR means in dinosaur.) As well as MuffysWorld, who has helped keep my head on straight in recent weeks.

I also gave my beta/buddy Laura some fun time with Jasper. She sure does love her some Jazz.

Have you checked out the Charlie/Renee outtake yet? I had submitted it to the Fandom for Sexual Assault Awareness compilation, it's in my story list- Miscalculations; A One Hundred Percent Outtake.

Until next time,

Ashley


	12. Chapter 11

So, yeah... An update. Bet you didn't think it would ever happen.

Chapter 11

* * *

"Babe, we can't," I said trying to put distance between myself and Edward's lips.

"Oh, but we can."

"No, we can't. Your cousins, Alice and that chick Jasper brought are all sitting in your living room waiting for us to bring out snacks and drinks so we can start the movie." I moved to the pan of fudge-swirl brownies cooling on the counter and began slicing them.

"Bell," Edward whispered, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "I can easily kick my cousins out. And I'm pretty sure Alice would be more than willing to go with Sawyer." He kissed up my neck, sucking my on my ear lightly. "Just think about it. You, me, alone… Mmm, sounds like a good time."

I put the knife down and turned to look at him. "It does sound good, but…"

"But what?"

"It's just," I paused and let out a frustrated huff. I was having trouble trying to say what had been on my mind for a while. Edward and I had gotten closer over the past few months. But when it came to rebuilding the physical aspect of our relationship, I couldn't find it in me to go past making out and some heavy over-the-clothes petting. "Have you gotten tested since _then_?"

"Tested?" He looked at me with wide, disbelieving green eyes. "Like STD testing?"

"Yeah."

He took a step away from me and swallowed hard. "I didn't think of that," he told me. "Guess it didn't occur to me. I mean, I should be fine. I don't think they'd give me anything, they're not like that."

"You don't think so? They both hooked up with you, knowing the other did, too. That doesn't leave me with the best thoughts about the type of women they are." He looked so ashamed after I pointed that out. He also seemed kind of shocked and guilty. "We can't do anything until you get checked out, okay?

"Okay. I-I'm sorry I didn't think of it myself. I'll give my doctor a call tomorrow to set it up," he said and pulled me close for a hug. "I love you, Bella. I'm sorry I fucked everything up, but I swear, I'll make things right."

"I know," I told him, kissing his cheek. "Now grab those plates, I'm afraid of what'll happen if we don't get back out there soon."

Entering the living room I found Sawyer holding Alice back as she screamed at Jasper. The girl he had brought, who I think was named Heather, was throwing pillows at his head.

"What the fuck happened?" Edward asked as he quickly put the dishes down.

Nothing!" Jasper exclaimed, as Alice yelled, "This asshole was practically humping her! When I told him to cut it out, he asked me to join!"

"J?" Edward gasped. "Really, man?"

"What? You can't tell me it wouldn't be hot! Imagine Bella and Alice together. Or all three of the girls!"

I didn't even have time to argue before Edward tackled Jasper to the ground and socked him in the gut. Sawyer was right behind, landing a shot to his brother's cheek.

"Stop being such a fucking dick," Sawyer yelled. "I don't give a fuck about you bringing a different girl around all the time, but don't be disrespectful to the ones E and I are with."

"Okay," Jasper gasped. His face still showing the shock by his younger brother's outburst.

The guys all got up and we started the movie. The tension slowly faded as we watched Alan and the other guys search for Doug.

A week later I was at work helping one of our regulars, when Edward walked in. He had a smile on his face so big, it was bordering on creepy. He walked up to the counter and stood next to the woman.

He waited until I had finished with her before he leaned over and gave me a sweet kiss. It was clear he was in an overly happy mood, I was curious why, so asked what was going on.

"The doctor called, I'm good."

"Wait, what?"

"The doctor called," he said with wide eyes. "In regards to my appointment earlier this week."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," he laughed. "I'm good," he said again, with a little shake of his hips.

"You're such a dork," I laughed and snagged a cookie from the display case. I handed it to him and watched as he took a big bite, the goofy smile never leaving his face.

"Yeah, but I'm a dork who's good to go." He laughed again, then finished his cookie. "That was good. How much do I owe ya?"

"'Owe me'?" I shook my head at his silliness.

"Well, I was thinking… If you slid another snicker-doodle my way, it'd equal a night out on the town, my treat."

I pretended to contemplate his offer for a moment, before smiling. "If two cookies gets me a date, what'll I get for a cupcake? Cinnamon roll? How about a cannoli?"

"Well, if it's cannoli we're talking about…" he joked before sobering. "In all seriousness, Friday night, what'd you say we go out? Just the two of us-dinner and maybe a show or concert. And, I know we just joked about it, but I'm not expecting anything more than a night out with you, okay?"

"I think," I let out a sigh, "I think it sounds wonderful."

"It really does." His smile was so wide and bright, I had an urge to take out my phone and snap a picture. "I hate to run, but I've gotta head to the field for practice. I'll call you later, okay?" He gave me another kiss, this one laced with the taste of sugary cookies, and headed towards the door. "Love you, Beautiful."

Driving to Edward's house on Friday night, I couldn't deny I was nervous. He said he had no expectations other than a nice evening out, but I knew we both were wanting more. And, even though I had forgiven him, I hadn't forgotten what happened. It was causing my insecurities to stay on the forefront of my mind.

As I pulled in the driveway and parked I gave myself a mental pep talk. I just kept thinking that he was with me, putting in the effort to make us work. And if he didn't want me, he wouldn't be with me-but he was.

I got out and reached into the backseat, grabbing my overnight bag. Regardless of what we did or didn't do tonight, I was spending the night. _And forcing him to make me breakfast in the morning._

Edward met me at the front door, opening it up to allow me in. He grabbed my bag and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, telling me I looked beautiful before disappearing down the hall. I wasn't sure why, maybe because of the possibilities the night held, but his comment had me blushing.

"So, you ready to head out? I thought we could go to that hibachi place near the park. Is that okay?" Edward asked as he came back into the room.

"Yeah, sounds good," I smiled at him.

After grabbing his wallet and keys, we headed out. It was clear from the moment we left his house, Edward was putting his gentlemanly manners on display. He led me to his truck with his hand on my back and opened the door for me. When we pulled up to the restaurant, he helped me out of the car and after kissing my hand, placed it in the crook of his arm while we walked to the door. He opened doors, pulled out my seat and prompted the waiter to take my order first.

By the time we left, pleasantly stuffed with food and full of smiles from our table chef, I didn't think the night could get any better. I was wrong. He brought me down the road to park, straight to a large fountain.

We sat on a bench with his arms around me. It was so peaceful, just watching the lights bouncing off the flowing water.

"Bella," he whispered, breaking the stillness. "Do you know the story behind this fountain?"

"No."

"They say that if you throw in a coin and make a wish for love, it will come true. But I don't need to wish for love to come to me." He shook his head. "I have love, I have you."

"Oh, babe," I sighed and leaned in to kiss him. He gave me a small peck on the lips, but pulled back.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two coins. Holding one up, he told me. "This one is for you, to wish however you want, for whatever you want. And this one's going to be mine, it's a wish for our future and all the ways our love could grow. The way I feel for you, Bella, that's not changing. I know we've been through hell and it's my fault, but my feelings have never wavered. Weather you say it or not, I know you love me. So make your wish, no matter what it is, you deserve for it to come true."

He pulled me up and walked us to the edge of the water. While he stared into my eyes, he brought the coin to his lips, kissed it and then tossed it into the water.

"Edward," I whispered, choked up. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled his head down so I could kiss him. I put everything I could into it and while we were locked together I threw the coin. It's splash made him pull away. "I love you, Edward."

"It feels so good to hear you say that," he told me while letting out a deep breath.

"It feels good to say it." I laughed. "Now take me home, I think we need to _feel_ it, too, lover boy."

We quickly made our way back to the car and started our journey back to Edward's house. He held my hand as he drove and when we were a few blocks away he interrupted the soft music. "As much as I'd like this to happen, Bell, I don't expect it. I told you, no pressure, I just wanted to spend time with you."

"I know," I acknowledged, squeezing his hand. "But, baby, I'm done holding back. We're at a good place and I want this. I want you. I've missed this part of us, so damn much. Now take me home," I told him as we pulled into the driveway.

When we walked into the house he led me to the kitchen and asked if I wanted a drink. I shook my head no, anxious and just so ready to move on to the fun stuff. Edward on the other hand seemed hesitant. He immediately walked to large liquor cabinet and began mixing juice and liquor from a bunch of bottles.

I walked up to his back and placed my arms around him. "What's going on? You okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm good."

"Then why are you mixing cranberry juice with vodka, whiskey and Bailey's?"

"What?" he stopped what he was doing and looked down to the strange concoction he'd created. It was an odd color and as he passed by me, the smell was just as funky. Once across the kitchen, Edward dumped the liquid down the drain, before leaning against the sink. He stayed there, staring at the dark tiled floor before gazing into my eyes. "I'm nervous. I just, I want to let go of everything that's happened but my brain isn't forgetting it. I keep thinking 'how could she forgive me'? I was such a dick. 'How could she want to be with me'? It's stupid, I know, but its what's in my head."

"Are we really going there again?" I asked in an exasperated tone. "I thought the point of tonight, the fountain and all that, was to put it in the past? I haven't forgotten about anything, but I do forgive you. And I want you, in all ways I can have you."

"I know. It's just-"

"No!" I yelled. "Do you want to be with me, Edward?"

"You know I do."

"Do you love me?" I asked, my hand over my heart.

"More than I can express, Bella," he said with an earnest expression on his face.

"Then that's all the matters," I stated, stepping in his direction. I pulled him down to me and kissed him. He responded immediately and slipped his tongue between my lips.

I knew his nagging thoughts had faded away when I felt both his hands grabbing my ass. He used the tight grip he had to pull me forward, where I could feel how hard he was. Running my hands slowly down his chest, I didn't stop until I reached his belt.

When I started to pull at the leather to loosen it, Edward pulled back a half step, causing me to look up at him. He was breathing heavily through his open mouth, desire written across his face, but his slow head shake threw me off. "Not here, baby," was his gruff response after a moment. He pulled me close again, and picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist while he stalked out of the kitchen. "I miss seeing you in my bed far to much."

Once in his room, Edward laid me down on the large bed. He climbed on top of me and kissed me hard. He raced to undo the buttons on my shirt and pants. His scruff scratched sensuously against my skin as he nipped and licked down my neck and chest.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he murmured softly into my stomach. Peeking up, the green of his eyes mesmerized me for an instant.

"Take this off," I directed, pulling at the fabric of his sweater. Edward flung the garment across the room. While he had been shedding the fabric, I began pulling his belt until it was undone.

"Oh, no you don't," he growled, grabbing my hands and pulling them away from the button I was trying to free. "You won't be seeing more of me until I get to see a little more of you."

I lifted myself as Edward's hands slowly skimmed up my sides, bunching my shirt as they went higher. The feeling of his thumbs sliding over my breasts caused a shiver to run down my spine. I raised my arms, giving him a clear path to get my top off.

Once my shirt joined his on the floor, Edward was frozen. His eyes were traveling over my skin. In his moment of admiration, an idea formed in my head and without warning, I was pushing him to his back and straddling his waist.

"Bella," he said, looking at me in surprise.

"You were taking too long, baby." I shook my head while reaching behind my back to unclasp my bra. "It's been so long, I don't want to wait anymore. I want you, I want you now."

As I began to pull his jeans and boxers down, Edward nodded. "Anything you want, Bella. _Anything_."

Once he was naked, his clothing blending with mine on the carpet, he rolled me to my back once more. With a newfound determination, he peeled away my last layer.

As Edward settled between my thighs, lining himself up to my entrance, he stared deeply into my eyes. "There are so many things I want to do to you right now." He paused, licking his lips. "But I said I'd give you whatever you wanted." And with those words he entered me, pushing in as deep as he could.

The pace Edward set was steady. It wasn't the slow, sweet torture of love making, but it also wasn't a frenzied, headboard-banging fuck. He found the middle point, showing all the passion and love he had for me.

We continued to rock into each other, climaxes getting closer with each of our thrusts. I was teetering on the brink, each swivel of Edward's hips had me breathing deep, barely able to catch my breath. "So close, baby," I choked out. When that overwhelming sensation of bliss finally hit, I dug my nails into Edward's back and called out his name.

I was coming down from my orgasm when Edward's rhythm started to differ. His face was tight, teeth gritted together and brows furrowed. I could tell he was close, but trying to hold off. "Don't fight it, baby," I whispered, "take what you need." And he did, groaning as he came.

Minutes later we were laying in each others arms, coming down from our highs. "I've missed this, so much, Edward."

"Me, too," he agreed, kissing my head. "I love you, Bella."

* * *

If you're still out there, thanks for reading. I don't even know if anyone will read this after such a long hiatus, but I'm committed to finishing this story. Even if it's just for me. Even if it takes me years-which I hope it doesn't. I could tell you all about my crazy life and why I haven't updated, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm starting to find the time to be able to write, as well as my groove. I can't make any promises for future update time frames, just know this is a story I think about and want to write, even when I haven't been able to.

Also, big THANK YOU's to CallMePagliacci for her beta'ing help. My typical beta, Laura, was under the weather and I didn't want to bother her, so I reached out and CMP lent a kind hand.

* * *

~Ash


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